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

See Examples For:

jetsam

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

While the garden is rooted in local culture, built bit by bit from the flotsam and jetsam of Los Angeles locations and plants native to the ecology, the programming is more global in approach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025

"It was impossible not to conclude," he later wrote, that for Powell "the struggle was about achieving long-term objectives, not simply a mastery of the flotsam and jetsam of current events".

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2024

Even though Polk was severely injured, Faulkingham said, he was safe and felt God was watching as flotsam and jetsam from his boat was pushed ashore.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023

He handed Penelope the object in question and went on his way, calling over his shoulder, “Can’t have flotsam and jetsam in the flower beds, no sirree!”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood