Throw

The word 'throw' is used to describe the launching of certain weapons or the use of certain items. However the official throw function is an inventory manipulation method. It is activated by selecting a hotbar item and then pressing the throw key (Q by default) or by selecting an item in inventory and them pressing the escape key, thus closing the inventory screen and throwing the selected item at the same time.

A thrown item travels around 4 blocks on a level surface before coming to a halt. Because of the limited range, some players have taken to calling this function 'drop', though that term is also used to describe items gained by killing foes. Throwing a weapon in this way deals no damage to anything hit by it, and throwing a tool in this manner doesn't activate any special effects (Grappling hooks don't grapple, buckets don't fill if they fall in water, etc.). Because pressing the throw key causes the active item to leave your inventory, have a care what you throw when you're close to lava.

Items that stack are generally thrown as a stack. Torches on the other hand are thrown one at a time. This allows you to throw one or more light sources down a shaft to illuminate the way down briefly, or illuminate the landing spot if it isn't obstructed.