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jettison

[ jet-uh-suh n, -zuh n ]
/ ˈdʒɛt ə sən, -zən /
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verb (used with object)

to cast (goods) overboard in order to lighten a vessel or aircraft or to improve its stability in an emergency.
to throw off (something) as an obstacle or burden; discard.
Cards. to discard (an unwanted card or cards).

noun

the act of casting goods from a vessel or aircraft to lighten or stabilize it.
jetsam.

RELATED WORDS

junk, abdicate, dump, unload, scrap, shed, abandon, discard, expel, reject, cashier, maroon, cast, slough, hurl, heave, deep-six

Nearby words

  1. jethro,
  2. jetliner,
  3. jetpack,
  4. jetport,
  5. jetsam,
  6. jetton,
  7. jetty,
  8. jetway,
  9. jeté,
  10. jeu

Origin of jettison

1375–1425; late Middle English jetteson < Anglo-French; Old French getaison ≪ Latin jactātiōn- (stem of jactātiō) jactation
Related formsjet·ti·son·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jettison

British Dictionary definitions for jettison

jettison

/ (ˈdʒɛtɪsən, -zən) /

verb -sons, -soning or -soned (tr)

to throw away; abandonto jettison old clothes
to throw overboard

noun

another word for jetsam (def. 1)

Word Origin for jettison

C15: from Old French getaison, ultimately from Latin jactātiō a tossing about; see jactation
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
Word Origin and History for jettison

jettison

v.

1848, from jettison (n.) "act of throwing overboard" to lighten a ship. This noun was an 18c. Marine Insurance writers' restoration of the earlier form and original sense of the 15c. word that had become jetsam, probably because jetsam had taken on a sense of "things cast overboard" and an unambiguous word was needed for "act of throwing overboard."

Middle English jetteson (n.) "act of throwing overboard" is from Anglo-French getteson, from Old French getaison "act of throwing (goods overboard)," especially to lighten a ship in distress, from Late Latin iactionem (nominative iactatio) "act of throwing," noun of action from past participle stem of iectare "toss about" (see jet (v.)). Related: Jettisoned.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper