throwaway

adjective throw·away \ ˈthrō-ə-ˌwā \

Updated on: 25 Mar 2018

Definition of throwaway

1 : designed to be thrown away : disposable

throwaway containers

2 : written or spoken (as in a play) in a low-key or unemphatic manner

throwaway lines

3 : nonchalant, casual

4 : marked by a tendency to discard things : overly wasteful

a throwaway society

See throwaway defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of throwaway from the Web

Steve’’ abounds in amusingly biting throwaway lines; there are jabs at Amy Adams, Kate Capshaw, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kristin Chenoweth, among others.

— don aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, "What’s in a name? With ‘Steve,’ it’s heart and wit," 16 Mar. 2018
This is why standard throwaway airport thrillers don’t migrate well beneath ground.

— adam sternbergh, New York Times, "Transportive Reading for Underground Transportation," 29 Jan. 2018
Bottles were not throwaway commodities in 18th-century America, which had no glass container industry and imported most of the handblown vessels from Britain and Europe.

— the washington post, AL.com, "'The bender that began America': George Washington's boozy 1787 Constitution celebration," 22 Feb. 2018
There's a throwaway line in Michael Wolff's book: Trump never learned how to read a corporate balance sheet.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Looking for Trump in all the wrong places," 12 Feb. 2018
Burner cells, basically throwaway phones, are common.

— charles rabin, miamiherald, "Spyware can copy your cellphone info. More police are employing it," 12 Feb. 2018
Yet one throwaway line from her talk on female empowerment has a huge community of women writers up in arms.

— jackie frere, Redbook, "The Internet Isn't Happy With Reese Witherspoon's Comments About Mommy Bloggers," 7 Nov. 2017
Unfortunately, the attention shifts and the apparitions are barely mentioned again, with the explanation relegated to a few throwaway lines.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "KFC UK trolls Trump over nuclear button tweet," 3 Jan. 2018
These won’t be throwaway spots given to any recruit in whom the Spartans have moderate interest.

— luke srodulski, ajc, "Michigan State football recruiting: Latest updates on Spartans’ next class," 22 Dec. 2017

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

First Known Use of throwaway

1928

throwaway

noun

Definition of throwaway

1 : one that is or is designed to be thrown away: such as

a : a free handbill or circular

b : a line of dialogue (as in a play) de-emphasized by casual delivery; especially : a joke or witticism delivered casually

2 : something made or done without care or interest

3 : a child who has been forced to leave home or who has run away from indifferent or hostile parents

See throwaway defined for kids

Recent Examples of throwaway from the Web

Skinny: Essentially a throwaway after feeling pressure.

— dennis manoloff, cleveland.com, "DMan's best "bets'' for NFL Week 8 include Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks," 29 Oct. 2017
So what are Trump's feminist bona fides, other than her throwaway #WomenWhoWork hashtaggery?

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Ivanka Trump has learned well from her father’s cons," 5 Sep. 2017
The result is a throwaway app culture where neither consumers nor developers expect long-term support.

— cyrus nemati, Slate Magazine, "iPhone Gamers, Brace Yourselves for the App-ocalypse," 24 July 2017
It should be noted that Lopez gives Tracy many of the best lines, and even the throwaways help define the character.

— james hebert, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Cygnet's 'Georgia McBride' a drag salute dressed up in pure fun," 16 Oct. 2017
Assessing Cutler’s throwaways Gase said quarterback Jay Cutler has been doing the right thing on the majority of his throwaways.

— chris perkins, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker (ankle) doubtful for Sunday at Falcons," 13 Oct. 2017
Casey and Fehrmann got to McGath on second down to force a throwaway.

— andrew gruman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Defense and special teams step up for Brookfield Central in win over rival Brookfield East," 30 Sep. 2017
Some of them were actually throwaways and a couple of them yesterday involved essentially being thrown behind him or out of bounds.

— clarence e. hill jr., star-telegram, "Who is the most crucial player needed to spark Cowboys’ passing game?," 19 Sep. 2017
That raises the concept beyond a throwaway joke on the character creator and into an integral part of the way the game proceeds.

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "Coming South Park game is harder for black characters," 7 Sep. 2017

First Known Use of throwaway

1903

throw away

verb

Definition of throw away

transitive verb

1 a : to get rid of as worthless or unnecessary

b : discard 2b

2 a : to use in a foolish or wasteful manner : squander

b : to fail to take advantage of : waste

throw away an opportunity

3 : to make (something, such as a line in a play) unemphatic by casual delivery

See throw away defined for kids

Examples of throw away in a Sentence

I should throw away that torn shirt.
if you buy a high-end computer, you'll just be throwing away money on a bunch of features you'll never use

First Known Use of throw away

1530

throw away Synonyms

Phrases

play ducks and drakes with (or make ducks and drakes of);

THROWAWAY Defined for English Language Learners

throwaway

adjective

Definition of throwaway for English Language Learners

: made to be thrown away after use
: made or said with very little thought
: tending to throw things away instead of keeping them and using them again : very wasteful