Expendable

Origin

From Latin expendere + -able

Full definition of expendable

Adjective

1. Able to be expended; not inexhaustible.Oil and other expendable resources are frequently the subject of military disputes.
2. Designed for a single use; not reusable.The anti-aircraft rocket is fired from an expendable launch platform.
3. Not essential or mandatory in order to achieve a goal.The research department was deemed expendable, and its funding was not renewed.
4. That which is 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.

Synonyms

• (not inexhaustible): exhaustible, finite, limited
• (not reusable): dispensable, disposable, throwaway
• (not essential or mandatory): adjunct, dispensable, redundant, superfluous
• (not worth saving or preserving): collateral, inconsiderable, sacrificable, worthless

Noun

1. 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.

Derived terms

• expendability
• expendably