expendable

expendable

English

Etymology

expend +‎ -able

Adjective

expendable (comparative more expendable, superlative most expendable)

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. 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

Translations

able to be expended

Bulgarian: потребляем (potrebljaem) Finnish: ehtyvä (fi), rajallinen (fi) French: consommable (fr) m or f German: entbehrlich (de), austauschbar Greek: αναλώσιμος (el) (analósimos)

Manx: yn-vaarail, yn-cheau Portuguese: esgotável Russian: невозобновляемый (ru) (nevozobnovljajemyj) Scottish Gaelic: so-chaitheamh Spanish: agotable (es)

designed for a single use

Bulgarian: за еднократна употреба (za ednokratna upotreba) Finnish: kertakäyttöinen, kertakäyttö- French: jetable (fr) m or f German: nicht wiederverwertbar

Portuguese: descartável (pt) Russian: одноразовый (ru) (odnorazovyj) Scottish Gaelic: so-chaitheamh Spanish: desechable (es)

not essential or mandatory

Bulgarian: маловажен (bg) (malovažen) Czech: postradatelný Finnish: epäolennainen (fi) French: facultatif (fr) m

German: verzichtbar (de), entbehrlich (de) Russian: необязательный (ru) (neobjazatelʹnyj) Scottish Gaelic: so-chaitheamh Spanish: prescindible

not worth preserving or saving

Czech: obětovatelný Finnish: uhrattavissa oleva, arvoton (fi) French: sacrifiable (fr) m or f German: verzichtbar (de), aufgebbar

Portuguese: sacrificável Russian: расходный (ru) (rasxodnyj), расходуемый (ru) (rasxodujemyj) Scottish Gaelic: so-chaitheamh Spanish: sacrificable

Noun

expendable (plural expendables)

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

Translations

expendable person or object

Finnish: kertakäyttötavara