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Verb: throw in the towel
Usage: informal
  1. Stop trying or participating; admit defeat
    "In the second round, the challenger threw in the towel";
    - drop out, give up, fall by the wayside, drop by the wayside, throw in, quit, chuck up the sponge [US, non-standard]

Derived forms: throws in the towel, throwing in the towel, threw in the towel, thrown in the towel

Type of: break, break off, cease, discontinue, give up, lay off, quit, stop, surcease [archaic]

Encyclopedia: Throw in the towel