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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jettisonsimple
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jettisonssimple
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have jettisonedperfect
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has jettisonedperfect
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am jettisoningprogressive
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are jettisoningprogressive
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is jettisoningprogressive
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have been jettisoningperfect progressive
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has been jettisoningperfect progressive
Past
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jettisonedsimple
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had jettisonedperfect
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was jettisoningprogressive
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were jettisoningprogressive
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had been jettisoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jettison
1375–1425; late Middle English jetteson < Anglo-French; Old French getaison ≪ Latin jactātiōn- (stem of jactātiō ) jactation
Explanation
Jettison means to push to the side or toss away. If a boat is leaking or an airplane is running out of fuel, you can buy more time by jettisoning cargo, or throwing it overboard. The word jettison — dating, in its nautical meaning, from the 15th century in English — is commonly used figuratively as well as literally. You can jettison a friendship or an attitude. During the month that the Winter Olympics are aired on TV, figure-skating fans across the country jettison homework and other responsibilities in order to watch.
Vocabulary lists containing jettison
This Week in Words: September 25 - October 1, 2017
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Hamilton
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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.
See Examples For:
Markets aren’t cynical enough to jettison their bets on tech, however, and continue to ride the sector’s extraordinary gains into the start of the new month.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
Richards did tell Lindo that he needed to jettison some of the neurotic choices he was making as an actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
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
To get even to the nearest star, you would need an enormous amount of fuel to jettison out the back of the rocket—a tremendous waste.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
In his directorial debut, John Travolta takes a swing so big that it knocks him off his feet and jettisons him into the air — 30,000 feet in the air, to be exact.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
The new approach jettisons everything we’ve learned over 60 years: that international development is successful when lasting partnerships are built upon a foundation of goodwill.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026
The Tony recognizes Groff’s empathetic portrayal of Franklin Shepard, a Juilliard-trained composer who jettisons his youthful idealism, his stage career and his co-writer to become a successful film producer.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2024
As an all-digital outlet, it jettisons the enormous printing and distribution costs of newspapers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2023
The starfish is often in the dilemma of losing a limb or its life; by a reflex action it jettisons the captured arm and escapes.
From The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) A Plain Story Simply Told by Thomson, J. Arthur
Without Stokes' all-round abilities, the hosts have had to bolster their batting by bringing in debutant Jordan Cox, and add to their seam bowling with Sonny Baker, meaning Bashir has been jettisoned.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
It could learn from India, which jettisoned antipathy toward Israel in the early 1990s, at around the same time that it embraced a more market-based economic outlook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
The business exploded racking up millions of customers as it jettisoned the post office to an internet-based business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
Within days of seeing the images, Essayli’s office jettisoned the charges “in the interest of justice.”
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2026
Ten peculiar children and one peculiar bird were made to fit in just three stout rowboats, with much being jettisoned and left behind on the dock.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Nor was he sentimental about jettisoning poor performers, insisting that “my obligation was to the living, not the dead.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
What we found could help calm some nerves, and might even stop investors from making the mistake of jettisoning the big winners too early.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
There were high-profile stumbles, including jettisoning staff of the tiny Turner Classic Movies channel and an ill-conceived rebrand of its streamer to “Max” before changing the name back to HBO Max.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
A cyclist on Ngapipi Bridge, a mile away, heard a splash underneath him—Dillais jettisoning the motor—then saw the Zodiac coast under the bridge into Hobson Bay.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Basketball players did passing drills on deck, but the wind kept jettisoning the balls into the Atlantic.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
