throw·away
ˈthrō-ə-ˌwā 
1
: designed to be thrown away : disposable
throwaway containers
2
: written or spoken (as in a play) in a low-key or unemphatic manner
throwaway lines
3
: nonchalant, casual
4
: marked by a tendency to discard things : overly wasteful
a throwaway society
1
: one that is or is designed to be thrown away: such as
a
: a free handbill or circular
b
: a line of dialogue (as in a play) de-emphasized by casual delivery
especially
: a joke or witticism delivered casually
2
: something made or done without care or interest
3
: a child who has been forced to leave home or who has run away from indifferent or hostile parents
threw away; thrown away; throwing away; throws away
1
a
: to get rid of as worthless or unnecessary
b
2
3
: to make (something, such as a line in a play) unemphatic by casual delivery
Examples of throwaway in a Sentence
Verb
I should throw away that torn shirt.
if you buy a high-end computer, you'll just be throwing away money on a bunch of features you'll never use
Recent Examples on the Web
Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
Reich also makes skillful use of the callback, in which a seemingly throwaway line is revisited and built on, sometimes multiple times.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2023
Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2025
Leitch produced the film, which was a passable Netflix throwaway hampered by dopey B-movie conventions.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 8 Feb. 2025
Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
Lexi had thrown away all her #MSDStrong memorabilia in search of a fresh start in Texas — only to realize that those tangible objects had been her puzzle pieces to a day that had never fully sunk in.
—Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for throwaway
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Adjective
Recycling is a downstream effort to mitigate the damage of a throwaway society.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
Reich also makes skillful use of the callback, in which a seemingly throwaway line is revisited and built on, sometimes multiple times.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2023
Noun
Every cold open featuring Harris and her cohort just rehashed each week’s news cycle, with throwaways to Johnson’s Trump and Bowen Yang as J.D. Vance featuring the two often just reciting actual statements made along the campaign trail, as if the lunacy of it all couldn’t be made more ridiculous.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2025
Leitch produced the film, which was a passable Netflix throwaway hampered by dopey B-movie conventions.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 8 Feb. 2025
Verb
Employees threw away more than 40 gallons of chicken broth because the broth had been improperly cooled and was not within safe temperatures.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
Lexi had thrown away all her #MSDStrong memorabilia in search of a fresh start in Texas — only to realize that those tangible objects had been her puzzle pieces to a day that had never fully sunk in.
—Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for throwaway
Cite this Entry
“Throwaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throwaway. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
throwaway
1 of 3 noun
throw·away
ˈthrō-ə-ˌwā
: something that is or is designed to be thrown away especially after one use
throwaway
2 of 3 adjective
throw·away
ˌthrō-ə-ˌwā
: designed to be thrown away : disposable
throwaway cans and bottles
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