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

Mickey is left with an impossible choice: spend his one life running from death, or spend eternity dying and being reborn as an Expendable, hopefully getting to enjoy some of his existence along the way.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2025

Six months and a run to the NBA Finals later, Mr. Expendable is suddenly Mr. Indispensable as the Celtics pursue their 18th championship.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 9, 2022

I’m an Avenger, an Expendable, whatever you want to call it, I’m part of the gang.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2017

Another is the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, a satellite system using medium- and heavy-lift rockets that the Pentagon requested about $1.7 billion for this year.

From Washington Post • Jan. 15, 2012

I would have been happy for him if it wasn’t so obvious that the rest of us had been simultaneously demoted to Expendable Civilian Status and thus were a whole lot less interesting to him.

From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff

Related Words

• disposable
• superfluous
• unimportant