Dictionary.com

jetsam

or jet·som

[ jet-suhm ]
/ ˈdʒɛt səm /
Save This Word!

noun
goods cast overboard deliberately, as to lighten a vessel or improve its stability in an emergency, which sink where jettisoned or are washed ashore.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Compare flotsam, lagan.

Origin of jetsam

1560–70; alteration of jetson, syncopated variant of jettison

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH jetsam

flotsam, jetsam
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use jetsam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for jetsam

jetsam

jetsom

/ (ˈdʒɛtsəm) /

noun
that portion of the equipment or cargo of a vessel thrown overboard to lighten her, as during a stormCompare flotsam (def. 1), lagan
another word for flotsam (def. 2)

Word Origin for jetsam

C16: shortened from jettison
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with jetsam

jetsam

see flotsam and jetsam.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
FEEDBACK