Meaning of cast in English

cast

noun

/kɑːst/ us

/kæst/

cast noun (ACTORS)

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B2 [ C, + sing/pl verb ]

the actors in a film, play, or show:

cast of characters The play's cast of characters is on the second page of the programme.

main cast After making two guest appearances, she was promoted to the main cast for the show's second season.

supporting cast Part of the film's success lies in the strength of the supporting cast (= the actors who were not playing the main parts).

After the final performance the director threw a party for the cast.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Cinema & theatre: casting, roles & scripts

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Cinema & theatre: actors & performers

cast noun (SOLID OBJECT)

[ C ]

an object made by pouring hot liquid into a container and leaving it to become solid

[ C ]

another word for plaster cast

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in a cast (UK also in plaster)

If a part of your body is in a cast, it has a plaster cast around it to protect it while a broken bone repairs itself:

My leg was in a cast for about six weeks.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Models & moulds

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Medical dressings, supports & devices

cast noun (OF IMAGE, ETC.)

[ C ]

the act of making an image, a piece of film, etc. appear on a screen by sending it electronically from another device such as a computer or phone:

How do I start my TV cast?

To end a cast from your phone, use your phone's settings to select the "stop mirroring" or "disconnect" option.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Computer concepts

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cast

verb

/kɑːst/ us

/kæst/

cast | cast

cast verb (ACTORS)

C2 [ T ]

to choose actors to play particular parts in a play, film, or show:

He was often cast as the villain.

In her latest movie she was cast against type (= played a different character than the one she usually played or might be expected to play).

figurative They like to cast the opposing political party as (= to say that they are) the party of high taxes.

See also

typecast

More examplesFewer examples

They cast a group of schoolchildren in the roles.
He always seemed to be cast as the villain.
The cast all lined up on stage to take their bow.
His latest movie featured an all-star cast.
It's one of those old Hollywood epics with a cast of thousands.
The cast were in overdrive, rehearsing for the first performance.
The movie's all-star cast should give it a lot of pull.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Cinema & theatre: casting, roles & scripts

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cast verb (LIGHT)

C2 [ T usually + adv/prep ]

to send light or shadow (= an area of darkness) in a particular direction:

The moon cast a white light into the room.

The tree cast a shadow over/on his face.

figurative Her arrival cast a shadow over/on the party (= made it less pleasant).

cast light on something

to provide an explanation for a situation or problem, or information that makes it easier to understand:

The discovery of the dinosaur skeleton has cast light on why they became extinct.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Giving out light

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cast verb (LOOK)

cast a look, glance, smile, etc.

to look, smile, etc. in a particular direction:

She cast a quick look in the rear mirror.

cast an/your eye over something

to look quickly at something:

Could you cast an eye over this report for me?

cast verb (SEND IMAGE, ETC.)

[ I or T ]

to make an image, a piece of film, etc. appear on a screen by sending it electronically from another device such as a computer or phone:

cast something to something You can cast photos to your TV using a streaming device, an app, or a cable.

cast to something from something Why can't I cast to my TV from my phone?

cast to If you can't cast to your TV, try the steps below.

cast from Make sure your TV is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the device that you want to cast from.

Tap the cast button (a rectangle with three curved lines) to begin casting.

More examplesFewer examples

You can cast your whole screen display, that is wirelessly transmit it, to another screen such as a TV, allowing you to see everything on your device on the larger display.
Here's how to cast to your Fire TV Stick from your iPhone or Android device.
Select what type of content you want to cast to your TV.

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Computer concepts

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cast verb (THROW)

[ T + adv/prep ] literary

to throw something:

The knight cast the sword far out into the lake.

[ I or T ]

(in fishing) to throw something, such as a line, into the water to catch fish with:

He cast the line to the middle of the river.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Throwing

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Hunting & fishing

cast verb (DOUBT)

cast doubt/suspicion on someone/something

to make people feel less sure about or have less trust in something or someone:

New evidence has cast doubt on the guilty verdict.

cast verb (REMEMBER)

cast your mind back

to try to remember:

If you cast your mind back, you might recall that I never promised to go.

cast verb (VOTE)

cast a/your vote

to vote:

All the votes in the election have now been cast and the counting has begun.

cast verb (SHAPE)

[ T ]

to make an object by pouring hot liquid, such as melted metal, into a shaped container where it becomes hard

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Industrial processing

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cast verb (MAGIC)

cast a spell

to use words thought to be magic, especially in order to have an effect on someone:

The old woman cast a spell on the prince and he turned into a frog.

cast verb (SKIN)

[ T ]

If a snake casts its skin, the outer layer of old skin comes off its body.

Related word

casting

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Removing and getting rid of things

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Idioms

cast someone adrift
cast someone/something adrift
be cast away
be cast in the same mould
cast your net wide
cast pearls before swine

Phrasal verbs

cast around
cast someone/something aside/away/off
cast off
cast on
cast someone/something out

(Definition of cast from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

cast | American Dictionary

cast

verb [ T ]

/kæst/

past tense and past participle cast

cast verb [T] (CAUSE TO APPEAR)

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to cause something to appear, as if by throwing something:

People complained about the shadows cast by the new skyscraper.

fig. A new scientific study may cast some light on (= help to explain) why women live longer than men.

In the sport of fishing, if you cast something, such as a line or a net, you throw it far into the water:

We watched the trout fishermen casting their lines.

cast verb [T] (CHOOSE ACTORS)

to choose actors to play particular parts in a play, movie, or show, or to choose an actor for a part:

They are casting the show in New York right now.

She’s been cast as a young doctor in an upcoming movie.

cast verb [T] (SHAPE)

to make an object by pouring liquid, such as melted metal, into a shaped container to become hard:

The bronze statue is being cast next week.

cast verb [T] (VOTE)

to give a vote:

Altogether, 358 votes were cast.

Idiom

cast doubt on someone/something

Phrasal verbs

cast about

cast off

cast

noun [ C ]

/kæst/

cast noun [C] (COVERING)

a hard covering used to keep a broken bone in the correct position and protect it until it heals

cast noun [C] (CHOSEN ACTORS)

all the actors in a movie, play, or show

cast noun [C] (SHAPE)

an object made in a particular shape by pouring a liquid substance into a container having that shape and letting the liquid harden

(Definition of cast from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

cast | Business English

cast

verb [ T ]

/kɑːst/ us

cast | cast

cast a/your vote (also cast a/your ballot)

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to vote:

Building society members can today cast their votes on the biggest merger in building society history.

(Definition of cast from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of cast

cast

He cast his readers not as colleagues in an emerging philosophical community, but as remote, credit-giving consumers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

This fact casts some doubt on the presence of hyperresistivity in these phenomena.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We have taken the first step by casting the mental events in compatible dimensions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Were this applause directed to the cast alone, then the report would be of interest primarily in the history of performance.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The types of speech errors made by bilingual speakers cast doubt on the assumption that phonological activation is restricted to the target language.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The city itself was not large by contemporary standards, but it cast a distinctly urban shadow over its surroundings.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Let me therefore point to a piece of evidence that cannot be cast in this mould: the evidence for a majority status effect.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The average (199,685) is derived from total numbers of votes cast in the 1996 congressional election (86,863,000) divided by the number of seats elected (435).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If a candidate wins a majority of the total votes cast in the district in the first round, he or she is elected.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Recent findings have begun to cast doubt on whether that is, strictly speaking, so.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, we should not forget that casting a vote in a referendum is not exactly the same as advancing an opinion in a survey.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

After votes are cast, the electoral system translates these votes into seats in a parliament that then makes policy decisions under majority rule.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The finely graduated degrees of light cast over the face of the moon also serve to reveal the heights and depths of its surface.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The example implementations of cast only consider three type constructors, integers, products and functions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

More often, they were not paid at all, just given poor quality rations and cast-off clothes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with cast

cast

These are words often used in combination with cast.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

all-star cast

It is always very amusing to see great actor taking the part of the butler, but if you want a bad performance go and see an all-star cast performance.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

diverse cast

In the early 1990s there started to be more sketch comedy shows that concerned racial issues or intentionally had a diverse cast.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

entire cast

A previously unseen communal office area (the bullpen) was added to accommodate scenes with the entire cast.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

See all collocations with cast

What is the pronunciation of cast?

Translations of cast

in Chinese (Traditional)

演員, （一部電影、戲劇或演出的）全體演員, 形狀…

in Chinese (Simplified)

演员, （一部电影、戏剧或演出的）全体演员, 形状…

in Spanish

reparto, yeso, dar un papel a…

in Portuguese

elenco, escalar, distribuir os papéis…

in more languages

in Marathi

in Japanese

in Turkish

in French

in Catalan

in Dutch

in Tamil

in Hindi

in Gujarati

in Danish

in Swedish

in Malay

in German

in Norwegian

in Urdu

in Ukrainian

in Telugu

in Bengali

in Czech

in Indonesian

in Thai

in Vietnamese

in Polish

in Korean

in Italian

कलावंताने साकारलेली भूमिका, नाटक, सिनेमा किंवा एखाद्या सादरीकरणात भूमिकांसाठी विशिष्ट अभिनेता…

（映画や劇の）出演者, （人）に役を割り当てる, 出演者（しゅつえんしゃ）…

oyuncu seçimi yapmak, fırlatmak, atmak…

distribution [feminine], acteurs [masculine, plural]…

repartiment, donar un paper a…

werpen, afwerpen, gieten…

ஒரு திரைப்படம், நாடகம் அல்லது நிகழ்ச்சியில் நடிக்கக்கூடியவர்கள், ஒரு நாடகம்…

किसी फिल्म या नाटक के कलाकार, किसी नाटक, फिल्म…

કાસ્ટ, ફિલ્મ અથવા નાટકના કલાકારો, ભૂમિકા…

kaste, kaste (af sig), støbe…

kasta, ömsa, kasta av…

melempar, tanggalkan, membentuk…

werfen, abwerfen, gießen…

rollebesetning [masculine], gips [masculine], besette rollene…

کسی فلم میں کام کرنے والے اداکار, ڈرامہ فلم یا کسی اور شو میں اداکار کے طور پر رول ادا کرنا, سایہ ڈالنا…

кидати, метати, скидати…

తారాగణం /ఒక నాటకం లేదా సినిమా లేదా షోలో నటించిన కళాకారులు, ఒక నాటకం, చలనచిత్రం లేక ప్రదర్శనలో ప్రత్యేకమైన భాగాలను ఆడటానికి నటీనటులను ఎంచుకోవడం…

নাটকে বা চলচ্চিত্রে অংশগ্রহণকারী অভিনেতা/ অভিনেত্রীরা, নাটকে, চলচ্চিত্রে কোনো চরিত্রের অভিনেতা নির্বাচন করা…

házet/hodit, vrhat/vrhnout, shazovat…

melemparkan, melepas, mencetak…

โยน, กำจัด, หลอม…

quăng, ném, vứt bỏ…

obsadzać, rzucać, odlewać…

출연자, 배역을 정하다…

cast, selezionare per il casting, gettare…

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cassette recorder

cassock

cassoulet

cassowary

cast

cast a look, glance, smile, etc. phrase

cast a pall over something

cast a shadow/cloud over/on something idiom

cast a spell phrase

Meaning of cast in English

cast noun (ACTORS)

cast noun (SOLID OBJECT)

cast noun (OF IMAGE, ETC.)

cast verb (ACTORS)

cast verb (LIGHT)

cast verb (LOOK)

cast verb (SEND IMAGE, ETC.)

cast verb (THROW)

cast verb (DOUBT)

cast verb (REMEMBER)

cast verb (VOTE)

cast verb (SHAPE)

cast verb (MAGIC)

cast verb (SKIN)

See also

Idioms

Phrasal verbs

cast | American Dictionary

cast verb [T] (CAUSE TO APPEAR)

cast verb [T] (CHOOSE ACTORS)

cast verb [T] (SHAPE)

cast verb [T] (VOTE)

Idiom

Phrasal verbs

cast noun [C] (COVERING)

cast noun [C] (CHOSEN ACTORS)

cast noun [C] (SHAPE)

cast | Business English

Examples of cast

Collocations with cast

cast

Translations of cast

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