Word
expendable
Phoneticsex·pend·able
US/ɪkˈspɛndəbəɫ/
UK/ɛkspˈɛndəbəl/
Definition
adj. describing something or someone that is not very valuable and can be easily replaced or lost.
adj. capable of being sacrificed, discarded, or replaced without significant consequence. Often used in contexts of resource management or social hierarchy.
Examples
“The old car was finally expendable and we sold it.”
“In a high-stakes military operation, the soldiers were treated as expendable assets to protect the mission's success.”
“The CEO argued that the outdated software was expendable, but the IT department warned that its removal would cause immediate systemic failures across the network.”
Examples
simple
“The old car was finally expendable and we sold it.”
contextual
“In a high-stakes military operation, the soldiers were treated as expendable assets to protect the mission's success.”
complex
“The CEO argued that the outdated software was expendable, but the IT department warned that its removal would cause immediate systemic failures across the network.”
Real-World Examples
“Rocket Lab’s Neutron vehicle can loft 13 metric tons to low-Earth orbit in a reusable model and 15 tons in expendable.” “Ultimately, the Shuttle was outclassed, at least on a commercial basis, by lower-cost expendable rockets.” Etymology
From expend + -able.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/expendable