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throw down

verb

Etymology

US, popularized 1970s in street culture, from idiom throw down the gauntlet (“to issue a challenge”), used in sense “to fight, to incite a fight, to make a stand” or otherwise get about partying with abandon (first used by Jay Johnson in Detroit in 1978 - taken nationally by Cecil Franklin, manager/brother of Aretha Franklin). Sense of “accomplish something respectable” evolved from sense “to make a stand, to exhibit, to demonstrate (in a challenging way)” inherent in the fighting sense. Sense of “to make a contribution” likely influenced by sense “to make a stand”, as in “are you in?”, “will you stand up and contribute?”

Definitions

  1. To cause something one is holding to drop, often forcefully.

    • The soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered.

  2. To destroy or demolish.

    • to throw down a tower

  3. To produce or perform (something) admirably or forcefully.

    • ...this guide tracks the artists and recordings that throw down the funk!
    • “Punch up the rhymes. Throw down some beats. Show off that body. You'll be unstoppable.”
  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. To accomplish or produce something in a grand, respectable, or successful manner

      To accomplish or produce something in a grand, respectable, or successful manner; to "represent".

      • Yeah, they could literally throw down. When their sound came out, it was earth-shaking.
      • “You're performing for the who's who of radio and records at the Soul Train Awards tonight and you've got to throw down”.

    2. To drink a large amount quickly.

      • "We need to finish these five pitchers in half an hour, so throw down as fast as you can!"

    3. To fight

      To fight; to make a stand.

      • Age ain't nothin' but a number / Throwin' down ain't nothin' but a thing / This lovin' I have for you, it'll never change
      • Let's you and me 'throw down' right here, right now!
      • When someone near me at a show called the band My Boring Racket, I was ready to throw down, but for the good sense of an accompanying female...

    4. To make an individual contribution to a group effort (e.g. money pool, collaborative…

      To make an individual contribution to a group effort (e.g. money pool, collaborative record album).

      • "We're goin' in on a pizza; you in?" "Yeah, I'll throw down."

The neighborhood

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sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA