Definition of "throe" in English

noun

1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die.

2. Any severe pang or spasm, especially an outburst of feeling; a paroxysm.

3. (figuratively, usually in the plural) A hard struggle, especially one associated with the beginning or finishing of a task.

verb

1. (transitive) To cause (someone) to feel throes, as if in childbirth; to put in agony.

2. (intransitive) To feel throes; to struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize.

noun

1. Synonym of froe (“a cleaving tool for splitting cask staves and shingles from a block of wood”).