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

"When I was growing up, you'd get a couple of plastic throwaway items from the supermarket in the days before Halloween, and then they were binned," she says.

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“I always voted for it,” Ferrante said, “but it was like a throwaway vote.”

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Specifically, I often recall one throwaway line that has come to feel very prescient.

Read more on Salon

Washington is unsurprisingly mesmerizing, improvising small gestures and throwaway lines.

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He was gathering bits and pieces considered to be “throwaway,” pulling from a “disaster” but shaping them into something vital and new.

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Related Words

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