jettison

1 of 2

verb

jet·​ti·​son ˈje-tə-sən 

-zən

jettisoned; jettisoning; jettisons

transitive verb

1

: to get rid of as superfluous or encumbering : omit or forgo as part of a plan or as the result of some other decision

must be prepared to jettison many romantic notions

—Christopher Catling

2

: to drop (cargo) to lighten a ship's load in time of distress

3

: to drop from an aircraft or spacecraft in flight

jettisonable

ˈje-tə-sə-nə-bəl 

-zə-

adjective

jettison

2 of 2

noun

: a voluntary sacrifice of cargo to lighten a ship's load in time of distress

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The Origin of Jettison

Jettison comes from the Anglo-French noun geteson (literally “action of throwing”), and ultimately from the Latin verb jactare, meaning “to throw.” The noun jettison refers to a voluntary sacrifice of cargo to lighten a ship’s load in time of distress, and is the source of the word jetsam, the word for goods that are so jettisoned; that word is often paired with flotsam (“floating wreckage”). These days you don’t have to be on a sinking ship to jettison something: the verb also means simply “to get rid of.”

Synonyms

Verb

• discard
• dump
• unload
• ditch
• lose

Noun

• removal
• disposal
• dumping

Examples of jettison in a Sentence

Verb

The captain gave orders to jettison the cargo.

They jettisoned the fuel and made an emergency landing.

We should jettison these old computers and get new ones.

They jettisoned plans for a vacation.

Noun

with his ship rapidly sinking, the captain ordered a last-ditch jettison of much of its cargo

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Despite those assertions, critical programs have already been jettisoned, and some experts say the fatality toll from the cuts will be up to 14 million preventable deaths. —Kate Knibbs, Wired News, 9 July 2025

Journeyman Cooper Hummel, cut by Houston in spring training and jettisoned by two other clubs already this season, homered Tuesday to win a one-run game. —Chandler Rome, New York Times, 26 June 2025

Noun

All the statehouse needs to do is jettison this one misguided provision. —Jim Amann, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2025

And to be clear, this whole Flight of the Century thing isn't just a concept: the team is planning battery jettison tests for this summer, with a transatlantic UAV-recharging flight in 2014. —IEEE Spectrum, 12 July 2012

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English jetteson, from Anglo-French geteson, literally, action of throwing, from Latin jactation-, jactatio, from jactare — more at jet

First Known Use

Verb

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

jettison

verb

jet·​ti·​son

ˈjet-ə-sən,

-ə-zən

1

: to throw goods overboard from a ship or aircraft especially to lighten it in distress

2

: discard entry 1 sense 2

jettison noun