expendable

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adjective ex·pend·able \ ik-ˈspen-də-bəl \

Definition of expendable

:that may be expended: such as

a :normally used up or consumed in service

expendable supplies like pencils and paper

b :more easily or economically replaced than rescued, salvaged, or protected

—

expendability

play \ik-ˌspen-də-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

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Examples of expendable in a Sentence

employees whose jobs are considered expendable

Recent Examples of expendable from the Web

That’s one legislative hostage no one can sanely regard as expendable.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Disaster Funding Package Could Make Debt Default Fears Go Away For a Long Time," 30 Aug. 2017
Barnes became expendable when the Warriors reached a deal with Kevin Durant.

— schuyler dixon, star-telegram, "Why Nerlens Noel is taking $4.1M qualifying offer from Dallas Mavericks," 26 Aug. 2017
As for Philly, with offseason signings Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and with former first-round pick Nelson Agholor finally appearing to turn the corner as a slot receiver, the Eagles evidently deemed Matthews expendable.

— jenny vrentas, SI.com, "Sammy Watkins Gets a Fresh Start in L.A., as the Bills Tear It All Down," 11 Aug. 2017
If Trumbo is out for any significant period of time, how expendable are either of them?

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Four questions left for the Orioles to answer before Monday's 4 p.m. trade deadline," 31 July 2017
Yet McCarthy was deemed expendable after the club acquired relievers Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter from the San Diego Padres on Monday in a six-player trade.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "The bullpen rested, Royals call up Terrance Gore to add speed to the roster," 28 July 2017
The player deemed expendable by the Yankees led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a double to deep center and later scored the winning run on Nelson Cruz’s single to left to give the Mariners a 6-5 walkoff win over the Yankees.

— ryan divish, The Seattle Times, "Mariners earn walkoff win over Yankees in 10 innings," 22 July 2017
At the other extreme, the 49ers' use of their first pick on a defensive lineman for three straight drafts and the addition of veterans Earl Mitchell and Elvis Dumervil have made Dial expendable.

— mark inabinett, AL.com, "San Francisco 49ers' Quinton Dial working on and off the field," 1 July 2017
So far NASA has been reluctant to embrace reusable rockets, preferring to press ahead with its large, costly, and expendable Space Launch System.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "Trump to sign executive order creating a national space council," 30 June 2017

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

First Known Use of expendable

1805

expendable

noun

Definition of expendable

:one that is expendable —usually used in plural

First Known Use of expendable

1942

EXPENDABLE Defined for English Language Learners

expendable

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adjective

Definition of expendable for English Language Learners

: easily replaced : not worth saving : not meant to be saved : meant to be used and thrown away

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See words that rhyme with expendable Spanish Central: Translation of expendable Nglish: Translation of expendable for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of expendable for Arabic speakers

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expendable

Definition of expendable

expendability

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expendable

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EXPENDABLE Defined for English Language Learners

expendable

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expendability

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