1 C1 neutral
(of the sea or waves) To deposit something on a shore; to wash ashore.
"The storm cast up tangled driftwood and old rope onto the harbour wall."
separable
cast up
C1 formal separable transitive
To throw or deposit something upward or onshore; to raise (a past fault) as a reproach; or to calculate a total.
In plain English
To wash something up onto a beach, to bring up an old mistake to make someone feel bad, or to add up numbers.
What does "cast up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic formal
(archaic/literary) To reproach someone by mentioning a past fault or failure.
"She cast up every mistake he had ever made, determined to make him feel guilty."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To cast (throw) something upward — as waves throw objects onto a beach.
Actually means
To wash something up onto a beach, to bring up an old mistake to make someone feel bad, or to add up numbers.
Usage tip
Largely archaic or literary. The sense of reproachfully mentioning past faults is old-fashioned but still understood. The nautical/coastal sense (waves casting debris up) is occasionally used. The arithmetic sense is obsolete.
Words that pair with "cast up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
shore coast accounts fault past wreckage
How to conjugate "cast up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
cast up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
casts up
he/she/it
Past simple
casted up
yesterday
Past participle
casted up
have + pp
-ing form
casting up
continuous
Hear "cast up" in the wild
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