English

Noun

throe ‎(plural throes)

1. A pang, spasm.
   • 1819, Percy Shelley, The Masque of Anarchy:

     As if their own indignant Earth

     Which gave the sons of England birth

     Had felt their blood upon her brow,

     And shuddering with a mother's throe

     Had turned every drop of blood

     By which her face had been bedewed

     To an accent unwithstood, —

     As if her heart had cried aloud: [...]

2. A hard struggle.
3. A tool for splitting wood into shingles; a frow.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:agony
• See also Wikisaurus:pain

Derived terms

• in the throes of

Translations

Verb

throe ‎(third-person singular simple present throes, present participle throeing, simple past and past participle throed)

1. (transitive) To put in agony.
   • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 2 scene 1

     SEBASTIAN:

     Prithee, say on:

     The setting of thine eye and cheek proclaim

     A matter from thee, and a birth, indeed

     Which throes thee much to yield.

2. (intransitive) To struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize.

Translations

Anagrams

• other