ENGLISH
REFERENCE

chuck away

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to throw something into the trash because you do not want it anymore.

phr. v.. to discard or dispose of an item, typically because it is perceived as useless or redundant; informal register.


SIMPLE

Don't chuck away those old magazines yet.

CONTEXTUAL

I spent the whole afternoon cleaning the garage and chucking away broken tools and empty boxes.

COMPLEX

While some collectors preserve every scrap of paper, others prefer to chuck away anything that does not serve an immediate practical purpose.

Particles
away
Separability
optional
Pattern
chuck + (object) + away
Usage

highly informal; common in British and Australian English.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'throw away' (neutral) and 'discard' (formal); the verb 'chuck' implies a casual or careless physical action.

Pitfall

I chucked away it.I chucked it away.when using a pronoun like 'it' or 'them', it must go between the verb and the particle.

© 2026 English Reference