jettison

verb jet·ti·son \ ˈje-tə-sən , -zən \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: The Origin of jettison

Definition of jettison

jettisoned; jettisoning; jettisons

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

play \ˈje-tə-sə-nə-bəl, -zə-\ adjective

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Examples of jettison in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of jettison from the Web

Last year, the Seattle Symphony decided to allow men to jettison their tails, except for New Year’s Eve and galas.

— michael cooper, New York Times, "Women of the Philharmonic Can Play It All. Just Not in Pants.," 14 June 2018
At that point, the capsule would jettison its outer shell, the airship would unfurl, and canisters of helium would inflate it to a volume of 2.7 million cubic feet.

— NBC News, "NASA has a plan to let humans soar above the clouds on Venus," 5 June 2018
In 1903, German engineer Alfred Maul demonstrated a gunpowder rocket that, after reaching 2,600 feet in just eight seconds, jettisoned a parachute-equipped camera that made photos during its descent.

— olivia b. waxman, Time, "Aerial Photography Has Changed the World. Drones Are Just the Latest Example," 30 May 2018
Others are jettisoned over the course of the following several months as political hopes collide with Beltway reality.

— james freeman, WSJ, "Trump, the Six Billion Dollar Man*," 22 May 2018
In less than a year, a boilerplate model of the Orion spacecraft will be jettisoned from its rocket at 55 seconds after liftoff to test the vehicle’s launch abort system.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "NASA’s Orion spacecraft getting closer to finally flying again," 8 May 2018
But, Hertog argues, the principle of holography allows theorists to jettison the dimension of time, instead.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Stephen Hawking’s (almost) last paper: putting an end to the beginning of the universe," 2 May 2018
But after school shootings in Kentucky and Florida, lawmakers took a pass earlier this year on completely jettisoning Indiana’s handgun carry licensing requirement.

— tony cook, Indianapolis Star, "How the Noblesville shooting will impact school safety and gun laws," 31 May 2018
But it was jettisoned at least eight different times.

— diana gitig, Ars Technica, "Plants repeatedly got rid of their ability to obtain their own nitrogen," 27 May 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of jettison

see ²jettison

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1848

in the meaning defined at sense 2

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jettison Synonyms

Phrases

dispose of, set aside;

Other Nautical Terms

avast, aweigh, flotsam, jib, keel, lee, port, starboard, stay

jettison

noun

Definition of jettison

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

Examples of jettison in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of jettison from the Web

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

The Origin of jettison

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.

Origin and Etymology of jettison

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year