jetsam

American  

[jet-suhm] / ˈdʒɛt səm /

Or jetsom

noun

1. goods cast overboard deliberately, as to lighten a vessel or improve its stability in an emergency, which sink where jettisoned or are washed ashore.

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jetsam British  

/ ˈdʒɛtsəm /

noun

1. that portion of the equipment or cargo of a vessel thrown overboard to lighten her, as during a storm Compare flotsam lagan

2. another word for flotsam

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jetsam Idioms  

1. see flotsam and jetsam.

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Etymology

Origin of jetsam

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

Explanation

Jetsam is debris floating around the water that has been dumped from a sinking ship. Sometimes beachcombers find jetsam washed up on shore. You often see the phrase "flotsam and jetsam" because both words refer to wreckage from a ship, but how the stuff got there is the difference. Flotsam is from a shipwreck, and jetsam is thrown off the ship to prevent it from sinking. People often use jetsam to mean any discarded objects, not just from the ocean.

Example Sentences

He recommends self-nudging, deliberately tuning our media inputs and scrolling practices to reduce time spent mentally fending off the internet’s flotsam and jetsam.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

The cavernous space is mostly filled with chairs, desks, filing cabinets and other bureaucratic jetsam.

From Seattle Times • May 19, 2024

Nearly a year and a half after the full-scale Russian invasion, the war remains a supply line of sorts for Reva, a never-ending tide tossing up new flotsam and jetsam.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 17, 2023

They will tell you he was the flotsam and jetsam of a sport which was becoming unmoored from reality.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2023

Whether Penelope was better described as flotsam or jetsam at this point was hard to say.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood