discard
Americanverb (used with object)
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discards,
present (3rd person singular)
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discarded,
past participle, past
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discarding
present participle
-
to cast aside or dispose of; get rid of.
to discard an old hat.
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Cards.
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to throw out (a card or cards) from one's hand.
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to play (a card, not a trump, of a different suit from that of the card led).
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verb (used without object)
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discards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
discarded,
past participle, past
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discarding
present participle
noun
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discards
plural
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the act of discarding.
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a person or thing that is cast out or rejected.
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Cards. a card or cards discarded.
verb
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(tr) to get rid of as useless or undesirable
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cards to throw out (a card or cards) from one's hand
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cards to play (a card not of the suit led nor a trump) when unable to follow suit
noun
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a person or thing that has been cast aside
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cards a discarded card
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the act of discarding
Usage
What does discard mean? To discard something is to dispose of it or get rid of it. In card games, to discard a card is to get rid of it, such as by putting it in the discard pile. Discard can also be used as a noun referring to a card that has been discarded. It can also be used as a noun in a general way, but this is less common. Example: You should have thought about fixing up that old chair instead of just discarding it.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discardsimple
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discardssimple
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have discardedperfect
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has discardedperfect
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am discardingprogressive
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are discardingprogressive
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is discardingprogressive
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have been discardingperfect progressive
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has been discardingperfect progressive
Past
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discardedsimple
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had discardedperfect
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was discardingprogressive
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were discardingprogressive
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had been discardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discard
Explanation
When you discard something, you get rid of it. If your closet is overflowing with clothes you haven't worn since 1992, why not discard some of them? When the verb discard first entered the English language in the sixteenth century, it referred to card playing and meant “to throw a card away.” Discard is still used to describe getting rid of unlucky cards, but today, you’ll also hear it used in a broader sense — we discard, or throw away, things that are undesirable or no longer useful. You might discard a worn out shoe, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing discard
Good Riddance
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The Circuit
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Stuart Little
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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:
Health officials said consumers who have any recalled product should discard it immediately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
"Consumers who have any recalled product should discard it immediately and not consume it. Refunds are available at the location of purchase," it added.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
That’s fine if the move is methodical, not fine if a health crisis turns it into a fire drill, forcing quick and painful decisions on what treasures to discard without a proper farewell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Anyone who has these products should not eat them and should discard them immediately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Before the train pulls out, he runs from car to car, looking into the hollows at the ends of the hoppers, where riders occasionally discard clothing.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
They agree to meet again, but Kip completely discards his Western life.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
The show’s path to hit status is an unusual story for Hollywood, which often discards shows that aren’t immediately successful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026
This measurement, which has critics and fans, discards the categories with the most extreme inflation readings on both the high and low ends.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
David: Steve Benen for MS NOW: Trump’s ‘God Squad’ discards the administration’s supposed interest in whale protections; Ella Nilsen for CNN: Only 50 of these whales are left in existence.
From Slate ● Apr. 2, 2026
As I wound my way through the discards a temporary solution sprang to my mind.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Many tonnes of meat in the processing stage had to be discarded.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Decades after Einstein had discarded the idea, his supposed mistake returned as the leading explanation for the new data.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
I pulled out the hot pads and discarded half.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The boorish, puerile Farva — imagine an “Animal House” character its writers would have discarded as too crude — is the catalyst this time around by falling in love.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
I grab for anything nearby—there is a discarded petticoat on the floor that I can use to stanch the blood.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
AFP reporters saw hundreds of people -- men, women and children -- entering Ceuta, discarding flotation rings and clothes used in their crossing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
All have moved on since then, while another chunky collection of caps has been lost through the discarding of Jack Leach, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Donating it doesn’t feel right, she said, and neither does discarding it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Schrader said it typically takes him four to six months to fully develop a screenplay idea, a process of testing, discarding and gradually refining concepts until they either strengthen or collapse under scrutiny.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
The granola bar I took one bite of before discarding.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
