noun
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a person who has been shipwrecked
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something thrown off or away; castoff
adjective
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shipwrecked or put adrift
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thrown away or rejected
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of castaway
First recorded in 1520–30; noun, adj. use of verb phrase cast away
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.
Vocabulary lists containing castaway
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 13–April 19, 2024
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Beyond the Bright Sea
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I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
Cleverly cast brother and sister Lupita Nyong’o and Junior Nyong’o play castaway twins Viola and Sebastian, with Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sandra Oh and Daphne Rubin-Vega among other well-known actors rounding out the cast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
Elmhirst, a journalist, came across the Baileys on a website dedicated to castaway stories, and set about researching their journey using Maralyn's diary and books Maurice published after their rescue.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025
Villain vs. victim in some folks’ minds, but at the very least — survivor vs. castaway.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
To be a castaway is to be caught in a harrowing ballet of circles.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
They are deep enough to create a distant shore of the imagination, where readers can live as castaways from cable news, TikTok and the dull throb of the ordinary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
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
The coastguard said a French Navy Dauphin helicopter was monitoring the area where the boat sank "to confirm the successful recovery of all the castaways".
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2025
In some cases, people are just set off on their own to a deserted island to cosplay as castaways.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2024
Captain Bligh of the celebrated mutinous Bounty and his fellow castaways survived forty-seven days.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
