Throw up means to be sick, to vomit. It's an ordinary informal word: I threw up. In British English it has a second meaning, to produce or reveal something, such as problems, questions or unexpected results: The survey threw up some surprises.
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throw up (= be sick); feel like throwing up; something + throw up + problems/questions/results (UK)
- I think the fish was off, because I threw up twice last night.
- My little son gets carsick and sometimes throws up on long journeys.
- The first round of interviews threw up a few problems we hadn't expected.
What changed
First versionThe boat was rocking so much that I felt like to throw up.
RevisionThe boat was rocking so much that I felt like throwing up.
When feel like means 'want to', it's followed by the -ing form: feel like going, feel like throwing up. The infinitive with to slips in by analogy with would like to, but it doesn't work with feel like.
Throw up is an everyday word. In British English, be sick sounds more neutral: I was sick twice last night, while a doctor would write vomit. Don't confuse it with feel sick: I feel sick means you feel as if you might vomit, while I threw up means it has already happened.
Your turn
Anna ate some bad prawns at dinner and ___ twice during the night.
Show the answer
threw up — Anna ate some bad prawns and was sick twice during the night: threw up. Throw out means 'to get rid of something' and needs an object, because you always throw something out. Without one, the sentence doesn't make sense.
Describe a car, bus or boat trip when someone felt ill. Say what caused it and how it all ended.
On our boat trip to the island, my sister threw up because of the big waves, but she felt fine as soon as we reached land.
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