This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
jetsam
or jet·som
[ jet-suhm ]
/ ˈdʒɛt səm /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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?
Origin of jetsam
1560–70; alteration of jetson, syncopated variant of jettison
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH jetsam
flotsam, jetsamWords nearby jetsam
jet pipe, jet plane, jetport, jet-propelled, jet propulsion, jetsam, jet set, Jet Ski, jet stream, jettison, jet-to-let
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.