jettison
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cast (goods) overboard in order to lighten a vessel or aircraft or to improve its stability in an emergency.
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to throw off (something) as an obstacle or burden; discard.
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Cards. to discard (an unwanted card or cards).
noun
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the act of casting goods from a vessel or aircraft to lighten or stabilize it.
verb
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to throw away; abandon
to jettison old clothes
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to throw overboard
noun
Other Word Forms
- jettisonable adjective
Etymology
Origin of jettison
1375–1425; late Middle English jetteson < Anglo-French; Old French getaison ≪ Latin jactātiōn- (stem of jactātiō ) jactation
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The swift text-email combination marked yet another evolution in the often-changing tactics employers deploy to jettison workers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
High-profile announcements from companies over the past few years promising to jettison the bachelor’s degree as a hiring requirement largely haven’t resulted in action.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 25, 2025
The decision to jettison the report’s traditional explanatory narrative was announced to EIA staff in a March 10 internal email, after the document was largely complete following months of work.
From Salon • May 6, 2025
There’s a certain amount of melancholy about aging that I can’t simply jettison.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2024
He set Hester down again and leaned out to jettison three bags of ballast.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
