Standard Lemma guide

jettison

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian: /ˈd͡ʒɛɾəsən/
  • Australian: /ˈd͡ʒɛtɪsən/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɛtɪsn̩/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-zn̩/
  • US: /ˈdʒɛd.ə.s(ə)n/
  • US: /ˈdʒɛd.ə.z(ə)n/
  • US: /ˈd͡ʒɛtɪsn̩/
  • US: /-zn̩/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: JH EH1 T IH0 S AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon to lighten the vessel.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: collective, uncountable

Examples

  • The shoreline was littered with the floating jettison from the wrecked freighter.
  • Deep-sea divers discovered centuries-old jettison resting on the sandy seafloor.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: jetsam ballast

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The act of throwing goods overboard to lighten a ship or aircraft in distress.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: law, maritime, nautical, transport

Examples

  • The captain ordered the immediate jettison of the heavy cargo to save the sinking ship.
  • The maritime court spent weeks reviewing the legality of the cargo jettison during the storm.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To eject from a boat, submarine, aircraft, spaceship or hot-air balloon, so as to lighten the load.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The ballooners had to jettison all of their sand bags to make it over the final hill.
  • The fuel tanks were jettisoned.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cast off, discard

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To let go or get rid of as being useless or defective.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: discard, chuck, ditch, dump, junk, lose, 86, bin, can, cast aside, cast off, cast away, chuck away, chuck out, dispose of, get rid of, jettison, pitch, scrap, shift, throw aside, throw away, throw out, toss, trash

Antonyms: adopt, embrace, keep, retain

5

verb

Meaning 5

throw as from an airplane

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: throw

6

verb

Meaning 6

throw away, of something encumbering

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: discard, fling, toss, toss out, toss away, chuck out, cast aside, dispose, throw out, cast out, throw away, cast away, put away

History

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman getteson, from Old French getaison, from geter, jeter (modern French: would be *jetaison like pendaison); possibly from a Vulgar Latin *iectātiō, from *iectātus < iectāre, from Latin iactō. Doublet of jetsam.

Across languages

Translations

78 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 拋棄 /抛弃 (pāoqì) — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Danish: ballast — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Dutch: ballast — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Finnish: painolasti — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • French: lest — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Georgian: გემიდან ტვირთის გადაყრა (gemidan ṭvirtis gadaq̇ra) — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Georgian: გემიდან ტვირთის მოშორება (gemidan ṭvirtis mošoreba) — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • German: Ballast — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Hungarian: ballaszt — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Polish: balast — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Portuguese: lastro — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Russian: балла́ст (ballást) — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Tagalog: taponlulan — collectively, items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon
  • Danish: losning — the action of jettisoning items
  • Dutch: prijsgeven — the action of jettisoning items
  • Dutch: opgeven — the action of jettisoning items
  • Dutch: overboordgooien — the action of jettisoning items
  • French: délestage — the action of jettisoning items
  • French: largage — the action of jettisoning items
  • Georgian: გადაყრა (gadaq̇ra) — the action of jettisoning items
  • German: Abwerfen — the action of jettisoning items
  • Hebrew: הֲטָלָה לַיָּם (hatala layam) — the action of jettisoning items
  • Norwegian: hive — the action of jettisoning items
  • Polish: wyrzucenie — the action of jettisoning items
  • Polish: zrzut — the action of jettisoning items
  • Russian: сброс (sbros) — the action of jettisoning items
  • Russian: выбра́сывание (vybrásyvanije) — the action of jettisoning items
  • Czech: odhodit — to eject from a boat
  • Danish: losse — to eject from a boat
  • Danish: kaste over bord — to eject from a boat
  • Danish: smide over bord — to eject from a boat
  • Dutch: lozen — to eject from a boat
  • Dutch: overboord werpen — to eject from a boat
  • Finnish: heittää yli laidan — to eject from a boat
  • French: délester — to eject from a boat
  • French: larguer — to eject from a boat
  • French: jeter par-dessus bord — to eject from a boat
  • German: über Bord werfen — to eject from a boat
  • German: Ballast abwerfen — to eject from a boat
  • German: abwerfen — to eject from a boat
  • Hebrew: הֵטִיל לַיָּם (hetil layam) — to eject from a boat
  • Hungarian: kidob — to eject from a boat
  • Hungarian: kihajít — to eject from a boat
  • Italian: gettare in mare — to eject from a boat
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kaste overbord — to eject from a boat
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kaste på sjøen — to eject from a boat
  • Polish: wyrzucać za burtę — to eject from a boat
  • Polish: wyrzucić za burtę — to eject from a boat
  • Portuguese: deslastrar — to eject from a boat
  • Russian: сбра́сывать (sbrásyvatʹ) — to eject from a boat
  • Russian: сбро́сить (sbrósitʹ) — to eject from a boat
  • Spanish: echar del — to eject from a boat
  • Tagalog: taponlulanin — to eject from a boat
  • Czech: zbavit se — to let go or get rid of
  • Czech: odhodit — to let go or get rid of
  • Czech: upustit — to let go or get rid of
  • Czech: opustit — to let go or get rid of
  • Czech: zanechat — to let go or get rid of
  • Dutch: van de hand doen — to let go or get rid of
  • Dutch: achterlaten — to let go or get rid of
  • French: se débarrasser — to let go or get rid of
  • French: abandonner — to let go or get rid of
  • French: balancer — to let go or get rid of
  • German: loswerden — to let go or get rid of
  • Hungarian: megszabadul — to let go or get rid of
  • Hungarian: sutba dob — to let go or get rid of
  • Italian: gettare — to let go or get rid of
  • Italian: buttare — to let go or get rid of
  • Italian: espellere — to let go or get rid of
  • Māori: ākiri — to let go or get rid of
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kvitte seg med — to let go or get rid of
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kaste — to let go or get rid of
  • Polish: wyrzucać za burtę — to let go or get rid of
  • Polish: wyrzucić za burtę — to let go or get rid of
  • Portuguese: jogar fora — to let go or get rid of
  • Portuguese: livrar-se de — to let go or get rid of
  • Russian: выбра́сывать (vybrásyvatʹ) — to let go or get rid of
  • Russian: вы́бросить (výbrositʹ) — to let go or get rid of