throwaway

[ throh-uh-wey ]

adjective

1. made or intended to be discarded after use or quick examination:

   a throwaway container;

   a throwaway brochure.

2. delivered or expressed casually or extemporaneously:

   a funny throwaway line that brings applause.

noun

1. something that is made or intended to be discarded.
2. a handbill, advertising circular, pamphlet, etc., intended to be discarded after reading.
3. Also called pushout. Informal: Disparaging and Offensive. a youth who is unwanted or rejected by their family, the school system, or society in general.

throwaway

/ ˈθrəʊəˌweɪ /

adjective

1. said or done incidentally, esp for rhetorical effect; casual

   a throwaway remark

2. 1. anything designed to be discarded after use rather than reused, refilled, etc; disposable
   2. ( as modifier )

      a throwaway carton

noun

1. a handbill or advertisement distributed in a public place

verb

1. to get rid of; discard
2. to fail to make good use of; waste

   to throw away all one's money on horses

Word History and Origins

Origin of throwaway¹

First recorded in 1900–05; adjective, noun use of verb phrase throw away

Example Sentences

This could be a throwaway prop or it may be nodding at Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, which gave Disney the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters.

From Time

While the company has partnered with numerous small business micro-influencers, this isn’t a throwaway campaign — it even features baseball player Alex Rodriguez.

From Search Engine Land

A disposable milk bottle that can automatically sense when its contents is spoiling is clearly out of reach, as is a throwaway wound dressing that can monitor moisture levels to ensure proper healing.

From Singularity Hub 

The habit of using disposable items on a regular basis primarily came out of the 1950s when “throwaway living” was advertised as a more convenient alternative than completing household chores like washing dishes.

From Quartz

Moviegoers were so familiar with the position of the town that it was a throwaway line in the 1940 film The Philadelphia Story.

From Time

Life is a series of seemingly throwaway moments strung together in a peculiar tapestry, and Linklater has captured it beautifully.

From The Daily Beast

The Getaway Car is lousy with these throwaway lines and asides.

From The Daily Beast

Even the Vatican weighed in, condemning the case as proof of our “throwaway culture.”

From The Daily Beast

What a throwaway, half-assed response devoid of any sort of research.

From The Daily Beast

Yes, there are the usual references to color-changing T-shirts and Jurassic Park, but it feels more warranted than throwaway here.

From The Daily Beast

The latest message was from a throwaway email address from one of the new Brazilian anonymizers.

From Project Gutenberg

The mainland lay not more than a short stone's throwaway, but between it and the island the water ran as swift as a mill race.

From Project Gutenberg

But in the straight on the run home when all were in close order the dark horse Throwaway drew level, reached, outstripped her.

From Project Gutenberg

And instead of throwaway dishes they used chinaware that could have come right out of a museum.

From Project Gutenberg

He had a few bob on Throwaway and he's gone to gather in the shekels.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• announcement
• broadcast
• commercial
• display
• endorsement
• exhibit
• literature
• notice
• placard
• poster
• propaganda
• publication
• publicity