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Jettison

To throw goods overboard to lighten a ship; to discard or abandon something unnecessary.

verb

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Imagine This

Mike Tyson is on an airplane 1,000 feet above the ground. He is learning to skydive, but he is scared to jump off. So other people on board throw him overboard. Afterwards, the airplane was named 'Jet Tyson' to commemorate Tyson being thrown overboard. When the jet crashed into the sea, it started to sink, and the crew started throwing all the heavy things off the plane to keep it buoyant, and one man volunteered to throw his son out of the plane.

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Sounds Like

JET-ih-sən

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Looks Like

Jet Tyson

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Remember This

Jettison comes from French jeter 'to throw'; the practice originally referred to throwing cargo overboard to lighten a vessel, later broadening to mean discarding any unnecessary item.

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Other Forms

jettisonedverb (past tense)

jettisoningverb (present participle)

jettisonableadjective

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Connect With

discard, shed, purge, abandon, throw overboard

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Note

Common confusion: jettison is not about refusing or rejecting someone emotionally. It specifically means to throw overboard or discard items or plans.

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Study Deeper

Examples

The captain jettisoned cargo to lighten the ship before the storm.
The company decided to jettison its outdated product line.

Synonyms

discarddumpabandondispose ofcast off

Antonyms

retainkeeppreserve

Etymology

From French jeter 'to throw' with the English suffix -ison, historically referring to the act of throwing cargo overboard; later generalized to mean discarding.

Mnemonic

Jet toss in: imagine a jet engine tossing cargo in to lighten the plane.