expendable

American  

[ik-spen-duh-buhl] / ɪkˈspɛn də bəl /

adjective

1. capable of being expended.

2. (of an item of equipment or supply) consumed in use or not reusable.

3. considered to be not worth keeping or maintaining.

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

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noun

1. Usually expendables. an expendable person or thing.

expendable British  

/ ɪkˈspɛndəbəl /

adjective

1. that may be expended or used up

2. not essential; not worth preserving

3. able to be sacrificed to achieve an objective, esp a military one

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noun

1. something that is expendable

Other Word Forms

• expendability noun
• nonexpendable adjective

Etymology

Origin of expendable

First recorded in 1795–1805; expend + -able

Explanation

Anything expendable is not necessary — it can be done without. If you lose or use expendable funds, you won't miss the money. None of us wants to be called expendable — that means we could be replaced. If a football team isn't worried about certain players leaving for another team, then those players are expendable: they won't be missed and won't disrupt things if they leave. In war, some people are considered more expendable than others: a soldier is more expendable than a general, because there are far fewer generals. In any country, the least expendable person is the president or other leader of the nation. That's why they get so much protection from their security guards, who are considered much more expendable.

Example Sentences

Especially now, workers are better off at companies with track records of advancing their employees’ careers, rather than those treating workers as expendable, said Rajiv Chandrasekaran, a managing director at the Schultz Family Foundation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Atacms stands for Army Tactical Missile System, while Himars is an acronym for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, an Army truck that carries expendable pods of rockets or missiles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Mike Ekeler was hired from Nebraska to coach linebackers, in addition to special teams, perhaps making current linebackers coach Rob Ryan expendable.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026

Stoke Space plans to launch an expendable rocket next year to collect data for its push for reusable vehicles, while Relativity Space wants to test its medium-to-heavy lift, reusable rocket in late 2026.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 30, 2025

Desiring cheap, expendable labor, colonists imported nearly eight thousand Africans from the western and southern parts of the continent in the mid-1600s.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Related Words

• disposable
• superfluous
• unimportant