throwaway

See also: throw-away and throw away

English

Etymology

Deverbal from throw away.

Adjective

throwaway (not comparable)

1. Disposable; intended for a single use prior to being discarded.

   Water was provided in throwaway plastic bottles, but the more ecologically minded of us refilled our initial bottles from the fountain.

   • 2021 January 13, Phoebe Weston, “Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 October 2026:

     More people means that more synthetic compounds and dangerous throwaway plastics are manufactured, many of which add to the growing toxification of the Earth.

2. Extemporaneous; off the cuff.

   The host made a throwaway remark about the president that was later repeated on the television news.

3. Given in a casual manner, either deliberately or unconsciously, with apparent disregard for effect.
   • As the film opens, a martial-drum-dominated version of the "Star Wars" theme and the inevitable bottom-to-top print crawl inform us that the Clone Wars, a conflict that originated as a throwaway line in the original 1977 film... https://web.archive.org/web/20150911134648/http://www.nysun.com/arts/star-wars-clone-wars-painted-in-the-stars/83922/
   • I was intrigued by the exchange in one of the opening scenes where the Warden says to Snake: "You flew the wing-five over Leningrad, didn't you?" It turns out to be just a throwaway line, but for a moment it worked like the best SF, where a casual reference can imply a lot. https://web.archive.org/web/20120125090151/http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/gibson_interview.html
   • 2021 February 5, Nicholas Barber, “The Great Dictator: The film that dared to laugh at Hitler”, in BBC‎^[2], archived from the original on 1 September 2026:

     In one throwaway visual gag, the towering filing cabinet behind his desk is shown to have no drawers at all, but several concealed mirrors instead.

Synonyms

• (being intended for a single use): single-use, disposable

Derived terms

• throwaway panel
• throwaway ticketing

Translations

disposable — see disposable

extemporaneous; off the cuff — see extemporaneous,‎ off the cuff

Noun

throwaway (plural throwaways)

1. Something temporary and disposable, as:
   1. Any printed material that need not be kept after being read; especially, a flyer or brochure.
      • 2016, Dr Eric Murphy Selinger, Dr William A Gleason, Romance Fiction and American Culture:

        Some [of the essays] appeared originally in writer's^[sic] forums and bookstore throwaways, others in more academic contexts […]

   2. (Internet) A burner account.
2. (comics) Ellipsis of throwaway panel
   • 2022 March 31, Benjamin L. Clark, quotee, “Interview on PEANUTS with the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center”, in UT Magazine‎^[3], archived from the original on 22 October 2026:

     Cartoonists include panels that can be eliminated without losing any of the story or humor, but Schulz would often draw creative title panels and throwaways as a nod to those newspapers that kept his strip as he envisioned.