discard

[ verb dih-skahrd; noun dis-kahrd ]

verb (used with object)

1. to cast aside or dispose of; get rid of:

   to discard an old hat.

   Antonyms: retain, preserve, keep, hold

2. Cards.
   1. to throw out (a card or cards) from one's hand.
   2. to play (a card, not a trump, of a different suit from that of the card led).

verb (used without object)

1. Cards. to discard a card or cards.

noun

1. the act of discarding.
2. a person or thing that is cast out or rejected.
3. Cards. a card or cards discarded.

discard

verb

1. tr to get rid of as useless or undesirable
2. cards to throw out (a card or cards) from one's hand
3. cards to play (a card not of the suit led nor a trump) when unable to follow suit

noun

1. a person or thing that has been cast aside
2. cards a discarded card
3. the act of discarding

Derived Forms

• disˈcarder, noun

Other Words From

• dis·card·a·ble adjective
• dis·card·er noun
• un·dis·card·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of discard¹

First recorded in 1580–90; dis- ¹ + card ¹

Example Sentences

And in a way that was right, because he was keen to save the best bits of it and to discard the worst.

From The Daily Beast

His past lives all display a remarkable bloodlust, one he continues to discard.

From The Daily Beast

So maybe what I've really got here is an Old Master discard being used – by me, the museum visitor – as a modern objet trouvé.

From The Daily Beast

Discard your alcohol and dispose of your pork “The Muslims Are Coming!”

From The Daily Beast

Anyone walking down a Manhattan street on trash day knows that New Yorkers discard some spectacular things.

From The Daily Beast

William, indeed, was not the man to discard an old friend for a new one.

From Project Gutenberg

The vote which required the King to discard them merely because they were what he himself was seemed to him a personal affront.

From Project Gutenberg

He would discard any doctrine which, logically carried out, led to absurdity.

From Project Gutenberg

"Yes; she was too genuinely a lady to encourage his suit, then discard him at the last moment," he concluded, despondently.

From Project Gutenberg

Here you are, slouchin' around without a dressin' jacket er slippers en talkin' 'bout an ole song that's in the discard.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abandon
• cancel
• dispense with
• dispose of
• ditch
• dump
• eliminate
• give up
• jettison
• reject
• remove
• renounce
• repeal
• scrap
• shed