Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

throw one's hat in the ring

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.00 in modern English

Syllables: throw one's hat in the ring
IPA

34

Scrabble Score

21

Letters

1

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To announce one's candidacy in a contest.

Example Sentences

"At that time her chances had been excellent. But then two other people had thrown their hats in the ring, Joan Voller and Sidney Hamilton, and both of them were colleagues on State Executive."
"Jürgen Klopp, the much-loved former manager of Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund, did not reject the idea that he could fill Nagelsmann’s shoes. But said he was not ready to throw his hat into the ring."

Etymology

From the former practice of throwing one's hat into the boxing ring in order to challenge a boxer.

Inflected Forms

throws one's hat in the ring (present, singular) throwing one's hat in the ring (participle, present) threw one's hat in the ring (past) thrown one's hat in the ring (participle, past) throw one's hat into the ring (alternative)

Phrases

throw down the gauntlet

Frequently Paired Words

throw down the gauntlet

Synonyms

put one's name in the hat toss one's hat in the ring

Questions

What does throw one's hat in the ring mean?: To announce one's candidacy in a contest.
Where does throw one's hat in the ring come from?: From the former practice of throwing one's hat into the boxing ring in order to challenge a boxer.

How to pronounce throw one's hat in the ring

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