Definition of JETTISON

The Origin of Jettison

Noun

Jettison comes from the Anglo-French noun geteson, meaning "action of throwing," and is ultimately from the Latin verb jactare, meaning "to throw." The noun jettison ("a voluntary sacrifice of cargo to lighten a ship's load in time of distress") entered English in the 15th century; the verb has been with us since the 19th century. The noun is also the source of the word jetsam ("jettisoned goods"), which is often paired with flotsam ("floating wreckage"). These days you don't have to be on a sinking ship to jettison something. In addition to literally "throwing overboard," jettison means simply "to get rid of." You might jettison some old magazines that are cluttering your house, or you might make a plan but jettison it at the last minute.

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

Schools are the obvious place to jettison outdated gender roles and to explore issues around consent. — Esther Perel, Glamour, "One Crazy Idea to Empower Women? Focus on Men," 12 Dec. 2018 Moreover, Demps was also able to jettison Omer Asik, Tony Allen and Jameer Nelson, three over-ripe veterans who were nothing more than extraneous parts in Gentry's system. — Jeff Duncan, NOLA.com, "This Pelicans' season has been one of redemption for Dell Demps," 8 May 2018 The two side boosters, which are previously flown Falcon 9 first stages, will jettison off the center core and land on landing pads at Cape Canaveral. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "The Falcon Heavy Is Almost Ready," 20 Dec. 2017 It was finally jettisoned in early 2018, but the damage to trust has been massive and will take years to repair. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "How Mark Zuckerberg became a wartime CEO," 20 Nov. 2018 Placeholder furniture that had kicked around for decades was finally jettisoned, replaced with alternatives that blended practicality with poetry. — Sara Ruffin Costello, ELLE Decor, "A New Orleans Manse is Given New Life with a Fashionable Pizzazz," 26 Oct. 2018 The research could also help explain how Uranus’ rings and moons formed, as the impact could have jettisoned rock and ice into orbit around the planet. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "'Cataclysmic' collision turned Uranus on its side 4 billion years ago," 3 July 2018 After all, a bankruptcy means an applicant has usually jettisoned most personal debt and now has a lighter load. — Russ Wiles, azcentral, "5 important tips for buying a rental property," 20 May 2018 Coming up, one city in California has voted to jettison its state's sanctuary policy. — Fox News, "Ingraham: Washington's real March Madness," 21 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Although still based on the same Sound Core 3D chip as the AE-5 and AE-5 Pure, the AE-9 jettisons the on-chip digital analog converter, or DAC, in favor of an external DAC. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "Exclusive first look: Creative Labs' high-end Sound BlasterX AE-9 breaks cover," 8 Dec. 2018 The best thing the Lakers could do for themselves, and LeBron James, is jettison Lonzo Ball and his deadweight daddy, and go looking for a healthy, mature partner for James. — Sally Jenkins, chicagotribune.com, "Welcome to L.A., LeBron James. See yourself out, LaVar Ball.," 2 July 2018 Bryant gets a fresh start with a brand new locker room, while the Steelers jettison a player who trashed a fellow wide receiver on Twitter in October and was reportedly seeking a trade in midseason. — Robert Klemko, SI.com, "Draft Notes: For Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, the Wait Was Worth It," 27 Apr. 2018 During this process, sea lampreys jettison about 20 percent of their genome during embryonic development. — Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, "Odd vertebrate gets rid of hundreds of genes early in development," 28 Jan. 2018 Suddenly, from the far reaches of my mind, the legal jargon jettisons to the surface. — Whitney Ellenby, Washington Post, "Bystanders were horrified. But my son has autism, and I was desperate.," 27 Feb. 2018 The measure slashes corporate and individual income tax rates and jettisons numerous tax breaks Americans and businesses have used for years to limit their costs, my colleagues Damian Paletta and Mike DeBonis report. — Paige Winfield Cunningham, Washington Post, "The Health 202: If the GOP really wanted to repeal key parts of Obamacare, they could use their tax plan to do it," 3 Nov. 2017 The Parallax View incorporates this tendency but jettisons whatever was specifically political about it. — Art Simon, Slate Magazine, "In The Parallax View, Conspiracy Goes All the Way to the Top—and Beyond," 21 July 2017

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