1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

white elephant

noun

Definition of white elephantnext
as in throwaway

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for white elephant
  1. throwaway
  2. castaway
  3. second
  4. rubbish
  5. trash
  6. waste
  7. scrap
Noun
  • Gone are the hesitation and the quick throwaway when in trouble.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Sep. 2026
  • While the tone may often feel blithely throwaway, the filmmaking is never careless.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of throwaway
Noun
  • Meet the 'Survivor' 51 castaways Are there any players from Michigan on 'Survivor' 51?
    — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 27 Aug. 2026
  • On Survivor, the strongest castaways are often eliminated early because they are perceived as threats.
    — Erik Clarke, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of castaway
Noun
  • The Tigers pulled to within a point with 23 seconds left in the game after Tre Nichols escaped a trio of would-be tacklers and lofted a 67-yard touchdown pass to Carter McElhany.
    — Erick Taylor, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The senior receiver made a game-winning, one-handed catch on fourth-and-goal for the Eagles in the closing seconds — and much to the delight of senior quarterback Sean Ruisz.
    — Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of second
Noun
  • This comes at the expense of no movement in the wrist, but to be fair, having the lightsaber pointed in any other direction would look rubbish.
    — Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • Only construction waste will be accepted at the landfill such as, brush and rubbish, concrete, brick, rock, wood, paper, plastics, cardboard and roofing shingles and tiles.
    — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 July 2026
Definition of rubbish
Noun
  • People tend to think of waste as trash, sewage, slag, manure and other seemingly useless or disgusting substances.
    — Edward D. Melillo, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Near the trash bins outside, investigators discovered a bottle of bleach, Jaen-Rosello said.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of trash
Noun
  • One only has to follow the money to understand why progress isn’t accelerating at the same rate that fashion waste is accumulating.
    — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Following the manufacturer’s dosing instructions cuts both detergent use and packaging waste.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of waste
Noun
  • Six melts, 24 hours The foundry’s electric arc furnace uses three large graphite electrodes to melt steel scrap.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The administration's proposal eliminates requirements for small class sizes and scraps caseload limits for family support specialists.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of scrap
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

white dwarfs
white elephant
white elephants
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“White elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white%20elephant. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All