1 B1 informal
To combine food ingredients quickly and casually, especially by tossing a salad.
"She tossed together a quick salad with whatever vegetables she had in the fridge."
separable
toss together
B1 informal separable transitive
To combine ingredients or items quickly and informally, especially for food preparation.
In plain English
To quickly put things together, especially food ingredients.
What does "toss together" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic informal
To assemble or create something quickly and without much care or planning.
"He tossed together a rough presentation the night before and hoped for the best."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To throw a number of things together into one place.
Actually means
To quickly put things together, especially food ingredients.
Usage tip
Most commonly used in cooking contexts, particularly for salads, where ingredients are literally tossed. Also used more broadly to mean assembling or combining things quickly without great care or preparation. The figurative use (bringing people or things together) is less common.
Words that pair with "toss together"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
salad ingredients vegetables meal leaves dressing
How to conjugate "toss together"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
toss together
I/you/we/they
3rd person
tosses together
he/she/it
Past simple
tossed together
yesterday
Past participle
tossed together
have + pp
-ing form
tossing together
continuous
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