CAST | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
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English (US)

Meaning of cast in English

cast
noun
us
/kæst/ uk
/kɑːst/

cast noun (ACTORS)

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B2 [ C, + sing/pl verb ]
the actors in a movie, play, or show:
cast of characters The play's cast of characters is on the second page of the program.
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 movie'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 & theater: casting, roles & scripts
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cast noun (SHAPE)

[ C ]
an object made by pouring hot liquid into a container and leaving it to become solid
[ C ]
another word for plaster cast
 
amriphoto/E+/GettyImages
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.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Models & molds

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cast
verb
us
/kæst/ uk
/kɑːst/
cast | cast

cast verb (ACTORS)

C2 [ T ]
to choose actors to play particular parts in a play, movie, 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
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Cinema & theater: 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.
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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 rearview mirror.
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cast an/your eye over something
to look quickly at something:
Could you cast an eye over this report for me?
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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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cast verb (DOUBT)

cast doubt/suspicion on someone/something
C2
to make people feel less sure about or have less trust in something or someone:
New evidence has cast doubt on the guilty verdict.
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cast verb (REMEMBER)

cast your mind back
C2
to try to remember:
If you cast your mind back, you might recall that I never promised to go.
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cast verb (VOTE)

cast a/your vote
C2
to vote:
All the votes in the election have now been cast and the counting has begun.
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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
C2
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.
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cast verb (SKIN)

[ T ]
If a snake casts its skin, the outer layer of old skin comes off its body.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Removing and getting rid of things
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See also

cast aspersions (on someone/something) formal

Idioms

cast someone adrift
cast someone/something adrift
be cast away
be cast in the same mold
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 | Intermediate English

cast
verb [ T ]
us
/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 ]
us
/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 ]
uk
/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
All four cast members had hinted at a collaboration over the weekend via social media.
From CNN
Very little of it, thanks to a superb cast, is predictable.
From The Seattle Times
We're going to fight this out until the last vote is cast.
From CBS News
The 1964 -- 1974 period is really what casts the die in terms of what's possible for school desegregation.
From Slate Magazine
All of the cast members have a following on social media.
From International Business Times
They mixed tetrapod nanocrystals into the polymer and cast slabs of the mixture in petri dishes.
From Phys.Org
Only about a third of votes cast were in favor of the resolutions, according to unofficial results released at the meeting.
From Plain Dealer
As we were casting our proxies, it was like a party, almost.
From Chicago Tribune
They're indie-movie conceits, but the cast makes it work.
From New York Daily News
Take a look and see what the cast has been up to for the past 20 years.
From ABC News
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.
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.
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…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
演员, （一部电影、戏剧或演出的）全体演员, 形状…
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in Spanish
reparto, yeso, dar un papel a…
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in Portuguese
elenco, escalar, distribuir os papéis…
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in more languages
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in Japanese
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in Dutch
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in Korean
in Italian
कलावंताने साकारलेली भूमिका, नाटक, सिनेमा किंवा एखाद्या सादरीकरणात भूमिकांसाठी विशिष्ट अभिनेता…
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（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）…
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oyuncu seçimi yapmak, fırlatmak, atmak…
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distribution [feminine], acteurs [masculine, plural]…
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repartiment, donar un paper a…
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werpen, afwerpen, gieten…
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ஒரு திரைப்படம், நாடகம் அல்லது நிகழ்ச்சியில் நடிக்கக்கூடியவர்கள், ஒரு நாடகம்…
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किसी फिल्म या नाटक के कलाकार, किसी नाटक, फिल्म…
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કાસ્ટ, ફિલ્મ અથવા નાટકના કલાકારો, ભૂમિકા…
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kaste, kaste (af sig), støbe…
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kasta, ömsa, kasta av…
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melempar, tanggalkan, membentuk…
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werfen, abwerfen, gießen…
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rollebesetning [masculine], gips [masculine], besette rollene…
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کسی فلم میں کام کرنے والے اداکار, ڈرامہ فلم یا کسی اور شو میں اداکار کے طور پر رول ادا کرنا, سایہ ڈالنا…
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кидати, метати, скидати…
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давать или получать роль, бросать, отбрасывать…
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తారాగణం /ఒక నాటకం లేదా సినిమా లేదా షోలో నటించిన కళాకారులు, ఒక నాటకం, చలనచిత్రం లేక ప్రదర్శనలో ప్రత్యేకమైన భాగాలను ఆడటానికి నటీనటులను ఎంచుకోవడం…
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طاقِم المُمثّلين, يَختار دَورا لِلمُمثّل…
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নাটকে বা চলচ্চিত্রে অংশগ্রহণকারী অভিনেতা/ অভিনেত্রীরা, নাটকে, চলচ্চিত্রে কোনো চরিত্রের অভিনেতা নির্বাচন করা…
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házet/hodit, vrhat/vrhnout, shazovat…
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melemparkan, melepas, mencetak…
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โยน, กำจัด, หลอม…
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quăng, ném, vứt bỏ…
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obsadzać, rzucać, odlewać…
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출연자, 배역을 정하다…
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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 shadow/cloud over/on something idiom
cast a spell phrase
cast a/your vote phrase
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