castaway

American  

[kast-uh-way, kahst-] / ˈkæst əˌweɪ, ˈkɑst- /

noun

• castaways
  plural

1. a shipwrecked person.

2. anything cast adrift or thrown away.

3. an outcast.

   Synonyms:

   leper, outlaw, pariah

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adjective

1. cast adrift.

2. thrown away.

castaway British  

/ ˈkɑːstəˌweɪ /

noun

1. a person who has been shipwrecked

2. something thrown off or away; castoff

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adjective

1. shipwrecked or put adrift

2. thrown away or rejected

verb

1. (tr, adverb; often passive) to cause (a ship, person, etc) to be shipwrecked or abandoned

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• castaways
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of castaway

First recorded in 1520–30; noun, adj. use of verb phrase cast away

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Explanation

A castaway is someone who's stranded on shore, often after surviving a shipwreck. A sailor who swims to a small island after a terrible storm can call herself a castaway. A castaway is more likely to be a character in a book than a real person, although occasionally a survivor has found him or herself washed up on an island. Some theories about what happened to the pilot Amelia Earhart after her disappearance include the idea that she was a castaway on some Pacific island. In the 15th century, a castaway was "one who is rejected." The deserted island survivor meaning came along in the late 1700s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

castaway castaways

The Seahawks were paced by a brilliant performance by quarterback Sam Darnold, a Jets castaway who rebuilt himself in Minnesota before landing in Seattle this past offseason.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026

The two other prominent theories are that Earhart crash-landed on or near the then-Japanese Marshall Islands, or that she made it to Nikumaroro island near Kiribati and died a castaway there.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025

The findings, reported last week in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, show life’s tenacity, with a variety of castaway creatures treating our trash as their own Noah’s Ark. But it’s not something to celebrate.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023

A castaway pair of shoes or a discarded backpack stuffed with personal documents and photos of loved ones may be the only sign that the trek ever took place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2022

Otherwise, to be a castaway is to be caught up in grim and ex­hausting opposites.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

According to Hunter, jury members had made up their minds before the remaining three castaways even had a shot to sweeten their chances at the final tribal council.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

Smart castaways might establish startups that end up competing with the big tech companies, a headache a large workforce helps protect against.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

In some cases, people are just set off on their own to a deserted island to cosplay as castaways.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2024

This show, 46 seasons in and still going strong, returns with the host Jeff Probst and 18 castaways who are headed to Fiji to compete and survive.

From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

One night, surveying the bearded, shaggy castaways around him, Shackleton ordered haircuts for all.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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