discard

verb dis·card \ dis-ˈkärd , ˈdis-ˌ \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: discard in a Sentence

Definition of discard

transitive verb

1 : to get rid of especially as useless or unwanted

a pile of discarded tires

They quickly discarded the idea.

2 a : to remove (a playing card) from one's hand (see ¹hand 9a(2))

discarded an ace

b : to play (any card except a trump) from a suit different from the one led

intransitive verb

: to discard a playing card

discard at the end of your turn

—

discardable

play \-də-bəl\ adjective

—

discarder

noun

See discard defined for English-language learners

See discard defined for kids

Examples of discard in a Sentence

Remove and discard the stems.
a pile of discarded tires
She discarded the six of hearts.

Recent Examples of discard from the Web

Aesthetic ideas drift in the air, used by one artist and then discarded, reabsorbed by another, according to ambition, means and opportunities.

— roberta smith, New York Times, "Japanese Gutai in the 1950s: Fast and Fearless," 14 June 2018
The actual video images are immediately discarded and can’t be recovered, so there is no possibility of using the data to track specific people.

— hiawatha bray, BostonGlobe.com, "Devices map people’s movements in Downtown Crossing to help businesses fine-tune offerings," 31 May 2018
The speculative execution is discarded and the correct calculation performed with the correct values.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "New speculative-execution vulnerability strikes AMD, ARM, and Intel," 22 May 2018
However, Hamel said police think the kittens were assaulted at another location and then discarded, possibly from a moving vehicle.

— christina hall, Detroit Free Press, "3 kittens found bludgeoned on Hazel Park street; police seek tips," 21 May 2018
The research looks at different types of shopping bags through all of their life cycles: from the extraction of the raw material needed to make the bag to the way the bags are used and then discarded.

— alessandra potenza, The Verge, "Are cotton totes better for the Earth than plastic bags? It depends on what you care about," 12 May 2018
Let the drink steep for 4 to 5 minutes, then discard the tea bag.

— m. carrie allan, charlotteobserver, "It may not cure your cold, but the hot toddy sure can warm your heart | Charlotte Observer," 23 Jan. 2018
All of which the authors discuss in detail and then discard as a result of human error, not an inherent problem of nuclear engineering.

— nick licata, The Seattle Times, "Can nuclear energy save our environment? Authors make a case in ‘Seeing the Light’," 21 Jan. 2018
Her Fall collection consists of eight looks made from new and reused materials, a response to the overwhelming amount of clothing that is produced—and then discarded—every year.

— steff yotka, Vogue, "Ice Dancing! Dad Fashion! Everything You Missed From Men’s Fashion Week Fall 2018, So Far," 10 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of discard

circa 1586

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

discard Synonyms

Phrases

dispose of, set aside;

Synonym Discussion of discard

discard, cast, shed, slough, scrap, junk mean to get rid of. discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.

- discard old clothes

cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.

- cast off her friends

shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster.

- shed a bad habit
- finally sloughed off the depression

scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.

- scrap all the old ways
- would junk our educational system

discard

noun dis·card \ ˈdis-ˌkärd \

Definition of discard

1 a : the act of removing a playing card from one's hand : the act of discarding (see ¹discard 2a)

b : a card discarded

collected the discards

2 : one that is cast off or rejected

See discard defined for English-language learners

Examples of discard in a Sentence

toss all of your discards in the garbage

Recent Examples of discard from the Web

Matt Albers: White Sox discard making a name for himself with Brewers, stranding 94.1 percent of runners with 0.88 WHIP.

— paul sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "Astros GM Jeff Luhnow never hides from his own tweets," 1 June 2018
Cooked pork with discard date of April 28 in the refrigerator.

— ryan santistevan, azcentral, "Mesa eatery left 3-day-old food on deli slicer, among other violations," 16 May 2018
Lines of vehicles waited for their chance to offload piles of brush, old furniture, and other discards.

— janice steinhagen, Courant Community, "Crews Clean Up Streets, Parks For Earth Day," 2 May 2018
Emily Sudd, for example, conducts acts of domestic archaeology by filling vessels with ceramic discards, firing them, then slicing them in half to reveal their innards in cross-section.

— leah ollman, latimes.com, "Ceramic art, once written off as mere craft, wins a brighter spotlight in the L.A. scene," 25 Apr. 2018
After accounting for unavoidable rates of discard among all livers harvested for transplant, the researchers calculated that the warm-body approach resulted in 20% more transplanted organs.

— melissa healy, latimes.com, "Liver transplants are better all around when you hold the ice," 19 Apr. 2018
Three days before Christmas, crews clearing a camp along Commercial Avenue placed a tent, bedding and other discards into the back of a garbage truck.

— jeff mcdonald, sandiegouniontribune.com, "City official who was fired after near-fatal garbage-truck incident back on San Diego payroll," 3 Apr. 2018
Some were library discards, some were found on the internet.

— joanne kaufman, New York Times, "For the Love of Malt Shop Novels," 5 Jan. 2018
Reduce oven temperature to 300°. Uncover bell peppers and peel away charred skin from flesh (don’t worry about getting every last bit); discard.

— claire saffitz, Bon Appetit, "Slow-Roasted Cod with Bell Peppers," 19 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of discard

1744

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

discard Synonyms

Synonyms

cull, reject, rejection, second;

Related Words

castaway, throwaway;

hand-me-down, white elephant;

rubbish, scrap, trash, waste;

DISCARD Defined for English Language Learners

discard

verb

Definition of discard for English Language Learners

: to throw (something) away because it is useless or unwanted
: to remove (a playing card) from your hand in a card game

discard

noun

Definition of discard for English Language Learners

: something (such as a playing card) that has been discarded

DISCARD Defined for Kids

discard

verb dis·card \ di-ˈskärd \

Definition of discard for Students

discarded; discarding

1 : to get rid of as useless or unwanted

2 : to throw down an unwanted card from a hand of cards

discard

noun dis·card \ ˈdi-ˌskärd \

Definition of discard for Students

: something thrown away or rejected

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See words that rhyme with discard Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for discard Spanish Central: Translation of discard Nglish: Translation of discard for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of discard for Arabic speakers

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discardable

discarder

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discard

Definition of discard

Examples of discard in a Sentence

Recent Examples of discard from the Web

First Known Use of discard

discard Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

DISCARD Defined for English Language Learners

discard

Definition of discard for English Language Learners

discard

Definition of discard for English Language Learners

DISCARD Defined for Kids

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discard

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