verb
jettison
JEH-tihsn
verb
1
To throw cargo or equipment overboard or overboard-equivalent, usually to lighten a vessel or aircraft in an emergency.
"The pilot jettisoned fuel before making an emergency landing."
2
To abandon or discard something no longer wanted or useful.
"The company jettisoned its old branding after the merger."
noun
1
The act of throwing something overboard, or the items thrown out this way.
"Insurance covered the jettison of damaged containers during the storm."
How to Use Jettison
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo dump something overboard in an emergency, or more generally to get rid of something no longer needed.
Common pairings
jettison cargo
jettison a plan
jettison old habits
Word Forms
jettisoned past tense, jettisons plural, jettisons singular
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The pilot _____ fuel before making an emergency landing.
Etymology
From an old French word meaning "a throwing", ultimately from Latin iactare, "to throw repeatedly" — a distant cousin of "jet" and "jut".