expendable

[ik-spen-duh-buh l]

See more synonyms for expendable on Thesaurus.com

adjective

capable of being expended.
(of an item of equipment or supply) consumed in use or not reusable.
considered to be not worth keeping or maintaining.

Military. (of personnel, equipment, or supplies) capable of being sacrificed in order to accomplish a military objective.

noun

Usually expendables. an expendable person or thing.

Origin of expendable

First recorded in 1795–1805; expend + -able

Related formsex·pend·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ex·pend·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for expendable

unimportant, superfluous, disposable, dispensable, excess, nonessential, inessential, replaceable

Examples from the Web for expendable

Contemporary Examples of expendable

Because when it comes to The Expendables franchise, no plot is expendable.
I Am The Hague! Sylvester Stallone's 'Expendable' Wet Dream
Amy Zimmerman
August 18, 2014
“They (critics of reform) think these people are expendable,” says Simpson.
The Anguish of Alan Simpson, Tragic Hero of Immigration Reform
Eleanor Clift
January 31, 2014
To put it bluntly: it often leads to making everything else a secondary—that is, expendable—issue.
When ‘Israel First’ Means Condoning Old-School Anti-Semitism
Anna Momigliano
December 12, 2013
The real danger lies in the implication that the freedom and dignity of Jews in the diaspora is somewhat of an expendable asset.
When ‘Israel First’ Means Condoning Old-School Anti-Semitism
Anna Momigliano
December 12, 2013
"As a result, he treats workers as expendable resources without taking into account their contributions," Stone writes.
Jeff Bezos’s Dad Was a Circus Performer and 5 More Juicy Bits From the Tell-All Book
Nina Strochlic
October 11, 2013

Historical Examples of expendable

There are too many imponderables: you are, to a certain degree, expendable.
A Place in the Sun
C.H. Thames
I know you hate to burn up a ship, but this one is supposed to be expendable.
Unwise Child
Gordon Randall Garrett
If we're caught, who knows better than we that we're expendable?
Subversive
Dallas McCord Reynolds
Hoskins goes, because of all of us, the Engineer is most expendable.
Breaking Point
James E. Gunn
In attempting to avert that tragedy I'm expendable, as is everyone else here.
Planet of the Damned
Harry Harrison

British Dictionary definitions for expendable

expendable

adjective

that may be expended or used up
not essential; not worth preserving
able to be sacrificed to achieve an objective, esp a military one

noun

something that is expendable

Derived Formsexpendability, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for expendable

adj.

1805, from expend + -able.