throwaway

1 of 3

adjective

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

throwaway

2 of 3

noun

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

throw away

3 of 3

verb

threw away; thrown away; throwing away; throws away

transitive verb

1

a

: to get rid of as worthless or unnecessary

b

: discard sense 2b

2

a

: to use in a foolish or wasteful manner : squander

b

: to fail to take advantage of : waste

throw away an opportunity

3

: to make (something, such as a line in a play) unemphatic by casual delivery

Synonyms

Verb

• cashier
• cast (off)
• chuck
• deep-six
• discard
• ditch
• dump
• eighty-six
• 86
• exorcise
• exorcize
• fling (off or away)
• jettison
• junk
• lay by
• lose
• pitch
• reject
• scrap
• shed
• shuck (off)
• slough (off)
• sluff (off)
• throw out
• toss
• unload

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

Adjective

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

Even the seemingly throwaway dialogue in a dinner scene reinforces how society perceives women struggling to balance the unfair demands of family and career. —Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2023

Noun

But unlike the Super Heavy-Starship, the SLS is a throwaway, expendable booster expected to cost some $1.4 billion for each of its first four moon missions. —William Harwood, CBS News, 4 Dec. 2024

In addition, The RealReal will donate $25,000 to benefit Conservation International, highlighting how the re-sale of high-quality fashion can reduce the environmental impact of the throwaway culture of fast fashion. —Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2024

Verb

Jenny said that within a day Alice had thrown away bags full of his belongings. —Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024

Tua Tagovailoa threw away the Dolphins’ fading hoped with three INTs in Houston while his team dominated the stat sheet. —Hank Gola, New York Daily News, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids 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

throw away

3 of 3 verb

ˌthrō-ə-ˈwā

1

: to get rid of : discard

threw the old ones away

2

: squander, waste

careful not to throw money away