What does ‘throw in the towel’ mean?
To “throw in the towel” means to give up; concede. Brewer's-era boxing gave us this idiom, in which a seconds' towel thrown into the ring conceded defeat for the boxer.
Origin
- Brewer's-era boxing gave us this idiom, in which a seconds' towel thrown into the ring conceded defeat for the boxer.
How to use it
- Common in competitive and workplace contexts.
- Example: After the fifth rejection he threw in the towel.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.