Throwaway
adj, noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Something temporary and disposable, as:; Any printed material that need not be kept after being read; especially, a flyer or brochure.
"Some [of the essays] appeared originally in writer's^([sic]) forums and bookstore throwaways, others in more academic contexts […]"
- 2 words spoken in a casual way with conscious under-emphasis wordnet
- 3 Something temporary and disposable, as:; A burner account. Internet
- 4 an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution wordnet
- 5 (sometimes offensive) a homeless boy who has been abandoned and roams the streets wordnet
- 1 Disposable; intended for a single use prior to being discarded. not-comparable
"Water was provided in throwaway plastic bottles, but the more ecologically minded of us refilled our initial bottles from the fountain."
- 2 Extemporaneous; off the cuff. not-comparable
"The host made a throwaway remark about the president that was later repeated on the television news."
- 3 Given in a casual manner, either deliberately or unconsciously, with apparent disregard for effect. not-comparable
"As the film opens, a martial-drum-dominated version of the "Star Wars" theme and the inevitable bottom-to-top print crawl inform us that the Clone Wars, a conflict that originated as a throwaway line in the original 1977 film... https://web.archive.org/web/20150911134648/http://www.nysun.com/arts/star-wars-clone-wars-painted-in-the-stars/83922/"
- 1 intended to be thrown away after use wordnet
- 2 thrown away wordnet
Example
More examples"Water was provided in throwaway plastic bottles, but the more ecologically minded of us refilled our initial bottles from the fountain."
Etymology
Deverbal from throw away.
Related phrases
More for "throwaway"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.