discard

verb

dis·card | \dis-ˈkärd,

ˈdis-ˌ\

Definition of discard

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to get rid of especially as useless or unwanted a pile of discarded tires They quickly discarded the idea.

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

discard

noun

dis·card | \ˈdis-ˌkärd

Definition of discard (Entry 2 of 2)

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

b : a card discarded collected the discards

2 : one that is cast off or rejected

Other Words from discard Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about discard

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Choose the Right Synonym for discard

Verb

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

Examples of discard in a Sentence

Verb

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

Noun

toss all of your discards in the garbage

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

To assemble, scoop out the fibrous matter and seeds from the squash and discard (or save the seeds for another use), then scoop out a 2-inch channel of flesh, chop or break it up, and mix it into the rice. — Joe Yonan, The Seattle Times, "Vegetarian (or vegan) guests for Thanksgiving? Serve them this beauty," 13 Nov. 2018 Remove dark-green tops of leeks and discard or save for another use. — Kitty Greenwald, WSJ, "The Simplest Leek Soup Recipe Is Also the Best," 29 Oct. 2018 Container gardening can be enjoyed for one season and discarded, or designed to last for years. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About Container Gardening," 13 Aug. 2018 Soak unused fireworks in water for a few hours before discarding. Do not use fireworks purchased in years past. — Daniel Wilson, sacbee, "Your guide to celebrating a midweek Fourth of July," 2 July 2018 The communities are, and were, suffering from high rates of hepatitis C, which can be spread through unclean needles, discarded in public places or shared by drug users. — Terry Demio, Cincinnati.com, "Needle exchanges to roll into Newport, Covington, offering drug users sterile equipment," 27 June 2018 Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and let cool completely (discard berries or save for another use). — Woman's Day Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Strawberry Tamales," 11 June 2018 If your lot code reads 5006 8069 10 05 and the best buy date is Sept. 1, 2019, the company says the food should be discarded or returned to the point of purchase. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "67 Tons of Banquet Salisbury Steak Dinners Recalled Due to Bones," 12 Apr. 2018 The products should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase. — Ajc Homepage, ajc, "Johnsonville recalls 109K pounds of sausage after reports of plastic contamination," 17 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

That’s when Rachel throws out the eight of bamboo as a discard — folding her winning hand, knowing that Eleanor will pick it up and declare victory. — Jeff Yang, Vox, "The symbolism of Crazy Rich Asians’ pivotal mahjong scene, explained," 20 Aug. 2018 Victories have been rare for the Boars, who are usually defeated in regional tournaments, where their squad of onetime discards take on teams for whom soccer is part of the school curriculum. — Matt Blomberg, latimes.com, "There's a reason that the soccer team rescued from a cave in Thailand was so tough and resilient," 11 July 2018 Salsa and tamales past discard date found in walk-in refrigerator. — Robert Gundran, azcentral, "Restaurant with no sneeze guard on salsa bar among this week's violations," 11 July 2018 Amazingly, the latter two were late pickups off the discard pile, Murphy last year, Macoun this year. — Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Red Wings flashback: Mitch Albom on 1998 Stanley Cup victory," 16 June 2018 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

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.