throwaway

1 of 3

adjective

throw·​away ˈthrō-ə-ˌwā 

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

throwaway

2 of 3

noun

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

throw away

3 of 3

verb

threw away; thrown away; throwing away; throws away

transitive verb

1

a

: to get rid of as worthless or unnecessary

b

: discard sense 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

Synonyms

Verb

• dump
• discard
• ditch
• unload
• lose

Examples of throwaway in a Sentence

Verb

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

An alias is a throwaway address that forwards mail to your real inbox. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025

There’s a deeper meaning to the song, but also, a lot of it feels throwaway. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025

Noun

In total, three of Nix's 11 incompletions Sunday came on virtual throwaways amid protection breakdowns. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 24 Sep. 2025

This could be a throwaway stat, but there is plenty of tape showcasing Williams either underthrowing or overthrowing his skilled Bears receivers. —James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025

Verb

Manchester City will be disappointed with throwing away two points in Monaco, with Erling Haaland, who scored twice, and Pep Guardiola admitting that improvements were necessary. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

Public health authorities are urging people to throw away certain precooked pasta meals sold at two popular retailers over concerns that they could be contaminated with listeria and connected to a worsening nationwide outbreak. —Rachel Treisman, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for throwaway

• aaa
• adonais
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway

Kids Definition

throwaway

1 of 3 noun

throw·​away ˈthrō-ə-ˌwā 

: something that is or is designed to be thrown away especially after one use

throwaway

2 of 3 adjective

throw·​away

ˌthrō-ə-ˌwā

: designed to be thrown away : disposable

throwaway cans and bottles

throw away

3 of 3 verb

ˌthrō-ə-ˈwā

1

: to get rid of : discard

threw the old ones away

2

: squander, waste

careful not to throw money away