Standard Lemma guide

throwaway

adj · noun · 9 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.

  • CMU ARPABET: TH R OW1 AH0 W EY2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Disposable; intended for a single use prior to being discarded.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • Water was provided in throwaway plastic bottles, but the more ecologically minded of us refilled our initial bottles from the fountain.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Extemporaneous; off the cuff.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • The host made a throwaway remark about the president that was later repeated on the television news.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Given in a casual manner, either deliberately or unconsciously, with apparent disregard for effect.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • As the film opens, a martial-drum-dominated version of the "Star Wars" theme and the inevitable bottom-to-top print crawl inform us that the Clone Wars, a conflict that originated as a throwaway line in the original 1977 film... https://web.archive.org/web/20150911134648/http://www.nysun.com/arts/star-wars-clone-wars-painted-in-the-stars/83922/
  • I was intrigued by the exchange in one of the opening scenes where the Warden says to Snake: "You flew the wing-five over Leningrad, didn't you?" It turns out to be just a throwaway line, but for a moment it worked like the best SF, where a casual reference can imply a lot. https://web.archive.org/web/20120125090151/http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/gibson_interview.html

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Something temporary and disposable, as:

Any printed material that need not be kept after being read; especially, a flyer or brochure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Something temporary and disposable, as:

A burner account.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Ellipsis of throwaway panel

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Topics: comics, literature, media, publishing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

words spoken in a casual way with conscious under-emphasis

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: actor's line, speech, words

8

noun

Meaning 8

an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he mailed the circular to all subscribers

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: circular, handbill, bill, broadside, broadsheet, flier, flyer

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: ad, advertisement, advertizement, advertising, advertizing, advert

Narrower terms: stuffer

9

noun

Meaning 9

(sometimes offensive) a homeless boy who has been abandoned and roams the streets

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: street arab, gamin

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: street urchin, guttersnipe

History

Etymology

Deverbal from throw away.