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

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

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

The place was a back eddy, a pool of jetsam beyond the pull of the main current, and that suited him just fine.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer