expendable

[ik-spen-duh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable of being expended.

2. (of an item of equipment or supply) consumed in use or not reusable.

3. considered to be not worth keeping or maintaining.

4. Military.,  (of personnel, equipment, or supplies) capable of being sacrificed in order to accomplish a military objective.

noun

1. Usually expendables. an expendable person or thing.

expendable

/ ɪkˈspɛndəbəl /

adjective

1. that may be expended or used up

2. not essential; not worth preserving

3. able to be sacrificed to achieve an objective, esp a military one

noun

1. something that is expendable

Other Word Forms

• expendability noun
• nonexpendable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of expendable¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; expend + -able

Example Sentences

It’s an assault on environmental justice that tells Californians their health is expendable.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Even the kinder ones who persuade her and Andy to join them on a scavenging run to what looks like an abandoned space station treat him as expendable.

Read more on Salon

Here, life is not simply devalued; it is made expendable.

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In mitigation, each defence lawyer argued that all involved were "expendable" compared with the wider drug enterprise, and that most of the children were "couriers" making trips across the UK.

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“No one person, no one community, is expendable. End of story,” said Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the marriage case.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• disposable 
• superfluous 
• unimportant