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
Synonyms
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
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
There are no throwaway humans.
—Meredith Goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Mar. 2023
In a lesser actress' hands, this might seem like a throwaway role as a character who is always there, but mostly speaks in sporadic moments of truly angelic song.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2023
Many of these units were essentially throwaway soldiers; Ukrainian soldiers have called them human wave assaults.
—Andrew E. Kramer Nicole Tung, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2023
Well, none of the smiles in the film are from throwaway characters.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Dec. 2022
And then there’s this quick, throwaway comment from Mark Cuban in a recent podcast.
—John Brandon, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2022
Aemma is a throwaway character who has virtually no dialogue that isn't about her pregnancy.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2022
Gene Park, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Dhar previously directed Uri The Surgical Strike (2019) which was also his first film with Gautam.
Article 370 released on a day when most cinema halls celebrated Cinema Lovers’ Day and gave away tickets for a throwaway price of $1.1 each.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
But in its original appearance, the game was just used for a throwaway scene in an episode that was mostly about something else.
—Huntley Woods and Christian Holub, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2023
The 2010 Hot 100 No. 1 remains an extremely contentious song within his discography, with many fans deriding it as a regrettable EDM-era throwaway and other fans telling those fans to hush and just fist-pump along with the hook.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 13 Feb. 2024
Purdy’s lone incompletion was a third-and-long throwaway toward McCaffrey.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2024
Allen blamed himself for having Buffalo’s final drive stall at the Chiefs 26 following two incompletions — the last a throwaway after he was flushed out of the pocket.
—John Wawrow, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2024
So often characters have plans and there’s a throwaway line to explain their motivations that was like a hundred pages earlier or a hundred pages later, or doesn’t appear at all.
—Geek's Guide To The Galaxy, WIRED, 26 Jan. 2024
But the cameo that tickles everyone belongs to the Pee-wee Herman creator, who pays off a throwaway joke from early in the film when Awkwafina and on-screen sister Sandra Oh bump into him on the lot where the quiz show tapes.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Nov. 2023
Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
And in Denmark, one city embraces reuse to throw away less.
—Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024
Public comments against the initiative cited excess costs associated with it, as any unused pre-numbered ballots would have to be thrown away after an election.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
At the end of the scene, Raghu could be heard talking to Davo and offering to throw away her golden ticket.
—USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
The club also gifted Bayern the title on two occasions, most famously last season, when the Black and Yellows threw away the title by failing to beat lowly Mainz.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
The bag should then be thrown away in municipal trash.
—Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
The agency issued warnings this week about two products with toxicity risk, urging consumers to throw away water beads from the brands Jangostor and Tuladuo, which were sold on Amazon as recently as November 2023.
—Katie Mogg, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2024
These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2024
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
There are no throwaway humans.
—Meredith Goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Mar. 2023
In a lesser actress' hands, this might seem like a throwaway role as a character who is always there, but mostly speaks in sporadic moments of truly angelic song.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2023
Many of these units were essentially throwaway soldiers; Ukrainian soldiers have called them human wave assaults.
—Andrew E. Kramer Nicole Tung, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2023
Well, none of the smiles in the film are from throwaway characters.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Dec. 2022
And then there’s this quick, throwaway comment from Mark Cuban in a recent podcast.
—John Brandon, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2022
Aemma is a throwaway character who has virtually no dialogue that isn't about her pregnancy.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2022
Noun
What would be a throwaway training montage in other stories, Toriyama would use as an opportunity to build up characters and tension.
—Gene Park, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Dhar previously directed Uri The Surgical Strike (2019) which was also his first film with Gautam.
Article 370 released on a day when most cinema halls celebrated Cinema Lovers’ Day and gave away tickets for a throwaway price of $1.1 each.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
But in its original appearance, the game was just used for a throwaway scene in an episode that was mostly about something else.
—Huntley Woods and Christian Holub, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2023
The 2010 Hot 100 No. 1 remains an extremely contentious song within his discography, with many fans deriding it as a regrettable EDM-era throwaway and other fans telling those fans to hush and just fist-pump along with the hook.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 13 Feb. 2024
Purdy’s lone incompletion was a third-and-long throwaway toward McCaffrey.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2024
Allen blamed himself for having Buffalo’s final drive stall at the Chiefs 26 following two incompletions — the last a throwaway after he was flushed out of the pocket.
—John Wawrow, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2024
So often characters have plans and there’s a throwaway line to explain their motivations that was like a hundred pages earlier or a hundred pages later, or doesn’t appear at all.
—Geek's Guide To The Galaxy, WIRED, 26 Jan. 2024
But the cameo that tickles everyone belongs to the Pee-wee Herman creator, who pays off a throwaway joke from early in the film when Awkwafina and on-screen sister Sandra Oh bump into him on the lot where the quiz show tapes.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Nov. 2023
Verb
The project dives into anti-war politics, with Pedro Pascal playing a military figure who no longer wants to throw away Rome’s young men on war.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
And in Denmark, one city embraces reuse to throw away less.
—Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024
Public comments against the initiative cited excess costs associated with it, as any unused pre-numbered ballots would have to be thrown away after an election.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
At the end of the scene, Raghu could be heard talking to Davo and offering to throw away her golden ticket.
—USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
The club also gifted Bayern the title on two occasions, most famously last season, when the Black and Yellows threw away the title by failing to beat lowly Mainz.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
The bag should then be thrown away in municipal trash.
—Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
The agency issued warnings this week about two products with toxicity risk, urging consumers to throw away water beads from the brands Jangostor and Tuladuo, which were sold on Amazon as recently as November 2023.
—Katie Mogg, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2024
These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'throwaway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near throwaway
Cite this Entry
“Throwaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throwaway. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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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