castoff

American

[kast-awf, -of] / ˈkæstˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

adjective

thrown away; rejected; discarded.

Out of a few pieces of castoff clothing she made herself a presentable new outfit.

a person or thing that has been thrown away or rejected.

I refuse to accept second hand merchandise—some other person's castoffs.
Many immigrants felt like castoffs, marginalized by national and global economic forces.
Printing. the estimate by a compositor of how many pages copy will occupy when set in type.

to reject or discard.

He soon cast off the shackles of his repressive upbringing.
to let go or let loose, as a vessel or its ropes from a mooring; set sail or begin a voyage.

We were about to cast off on a three-day cruise along the coast of British Columbia.
Textiles. to make (the final stitches) in a piece of knitting and remove them from the needle.
Printing. to determine how much space or type will be occupied by (a given amount of text).
to shed or cast.

Like leaves on an oak tree, antlers are cast off and then regrown every year.
to throw (a falcon) off from the fist to pursue game.

First recorded in 1735–45; adjective, noun use of verb phrase cast off

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023