expendable
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L336615 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɪkˈspɛndəbəl/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree English expend Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English expendable From expend + -able.
- Able to be expended; not inexhaustible.
“Oil and other expendable resources are frequently the subject of military disputes.”
- Designed for a single use; not reusable.
“The anti-aircraft rocket is fired from an expendable launch platform.”
- Not essential or mandatory in order to achieve a goal.
“The research department was deemed expendable, and its funding was not renewed.”
- Regarded as not worth preserving or saving; able to be sacrificed.
“In the internecine rivalries of large corporations, whole departments may become expendable in the execution of one executive's power play.”
“He was expendable, like commodities past their use.”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree English expend Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English expendable From expend + -able.
- An expendable person or object; usually used in the plural.
“Private Johnson was afraid the Lieutenant considered him an expendable, since he was always picked as point man.”