castaway

American  

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

noun

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

Etymology

Origin of castaway

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

Example Sentences

Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” leaves Heathcliff’s racial identity ambiguous, with characters referring to him as a “gipsy brat,” “lascar” and “Spanish castaway” at different points throughout the novel.

From Los Angeles Times

Defoe recounts the castaway’s thoughts, dreams, fears and disappointments, as well as his meeting with the Caribbean native man he calls Friday.

From The Wall Street Journal

“He’s never given up, he’s continued to fight on even though he’s been viewed as a castaway. I’m really happy for him and how he’s handled everything. Now he’s starting in a Super Bowl. LFG!!!”

From Los Angeles Times

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

The Times was soon writing about a new breed of homeless in L.A.: economic castaways who had lost jobs in the recession.

From Los Angeles Times