Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Something designed or likely to be discarded after use, as a free handbill distributed on the street.
- noun A child or teenager who has been rejected, ejected, or abandoned by parents or guardians and lives on the streets.
- adjective Designed or intended to be discarded after use.
- adjective Readily discarding things.
- adjective Having been rejected, ejected, or abandoned by parents or guardians.
- adjective Written or delivered in a low-key or offhand manner.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb to discard.
- transitive verb to waste or squander.
- noun an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution.
- noun words spoken in a casual way with conscious underemphasis.
- adjective designed to be discarded after a single use; disposable.
- adjective spoken with deliberate underemphasis.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Disposable ; intended for asingle use prior to beingdiscarded . - adjective
Extemporaneous ;off the cuff . - adjective Being intended for single use.
- adjective Selected or used without care or attention.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb get rid of
- verb throw or cast away
- noun words spoken in a casual way with conscious under-emphasis
- noun an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution
- adjective intended to be thrown away after use
- noun (sometimes offensive) a homeless boy who has been abandoned and roams the streets
- adjective thrown away
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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MOOS: The only trick he'd teach us is what he called a throwaway, the disappearing coin.
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The American nailed his first qualifying run in the men's halfpipe with 45.8 points on Wednesday, the highest score of his heat, but caught a rut on his second and got low marks in what he described as a throwaway run.
Reuters: Top News 2010
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As long as people purchase food and beverages in throwaway containers, they are supporting an unsustainable business and practicing an unsustainable lifestyle.
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The last point, almost but not quite a throwaway, is that success breeds success.
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She considered the song a "throwaway" -- one of many topical songs written for a particular political cause at a particular moment in time.
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a sharp mesmeric intelligence which she uses to shock with subtlety, in throwaway detail and quiet changes of direction.
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a sharp mesmeric intelligence which she uses to shock with subtlety, in throwaway detail and quiet changes of direction.
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a sharp mesmeric intelligence which she uses to shock with subtlety, in throwaway detail and quiet changes of direction.
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I tend not to read too much into a one word throwaway; for my taste, Matt seems to mostly be making mountains out of molehills (like he did with Steele earlier today — what is it about today for him?).
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This is the part of the field where you will see what are called throwaway plays, which are deep throws to the end zone or a trick play like a reverse or double pass.
Redskins-Eagles keys to the game: special teams LaVar Arrington 2010
qroqqa commented on the word throwaway
Most people won't be surprised to learn that they also seek to shape what is published in journals through ghost-written essays signed by prestigious doctors, or attempt to influence prescribers' opinions through widely distributed "throwaways", a euphemism for journal articles that support their products.
—New Scientist, 6 June 2009
June 8, 2009