castaway

[ kast-uh-wey, kahst- ]

noun

1. a shipwrecked person.
2. anything cast adrift or thrown away.
3. an outcast.

   Synonyms: leper, outlaw, pariah

adjective

1. cast adrift.
2. thrown away.

castaway

/ ˈkɑːstəˌweɪ /

noun

1. a person who has been shipwrecked
2. something thrown off or away; castoff

adjective

1. shipwrecked or put adrift
2. thrown away or rejected

verb

1. tr, adverb; often passive to cause (a ship, person, etc) to be shipwrecked or abandoned

Word History and Origins

Origin of castaway¹

First recorded in 1520–30; noun, adj. use of verb phrase cast away

Example Sentences

Harold Perrineau has notched several highlights in his varied career — as Augustus Hill on HBO’s prison drama “Oz”; as castaway Michael Dawson on ABC’s “Lost”; and as Boyd Stevens, a man battling enemies human and not, on MGM+’ s horror drama “From.”

From Los Angeles Times

His ancestry is ambiguous, and he is described in the book as "a dark-skinned gipsy" and "a little Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway".

From BBC

The castaway dreamed all night of Amanda.

From Literature

Years later when a shred of aircraft aluminum and the rubber heel from a woman’s shoe were found on an island 400 miles from Earhart’s destination, she was imagined to have been a castaway.

From Los Angeles Times

Villain vs. victim in some folks’ minds, but at the very least — survivor vs. castaway.

From Seattle Times