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 of jettison

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

Some of the other businesses have already been jettisoned and others will be stopped in the future. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 24 Nov. 2025

Future New Glenn flights will also feature a reusable payload fairing that can be recovered after being jettisoned in the upper atmosphere, a cost-saving step that SpaceX adopted years ago for Falcon 9 launches. —PC Magazine, 21 Nov. 2025

Noun

However, the action jettisons tough decisions down the road. —Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2025

The tower and fairing assembly, which fit over Orion like a protective shell, include thrusters for abort and jettison of the spacecraft, as well as attitude control (steering) for anomalies that require the spacecraft be quickly and safely separated from SLS. —Josh Dinner, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

derivative of jettison entry 2

Noun

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