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expendable

 - 2 dictionary results

ex⋅pend⋅a⋅ble

  [ik-spen-duh-buhl]
Use expendable in a Sentence
–adjective
1. capable of being expended.
2. (of an item of equipment or supply) consumed in use or not reusable.
3. considered to be not worth keeping or maintaining.
4. Military. (of personnel, equipment, or supplies) capable of being sacrificed in order to accomplish a military objective.
–noun
5. Usually, expendables. an expendable person or thing.
Origin:
1795–1805; expend + -able

Related forms:
ex⋅pend⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To expendable
ex·pend·a·ble   (ĭk-spěn'də-bəl)   
adj.  

  1. Subject to use or consumption: an expendable source.

  2. Not worth salvaging or reusing: expendable rocket boosters.

  3. Not strictly necessary; dispensable: an expendable budget item; expendable personnel.

  4. Open to sacrifice in the interests of gaining an objective, especially a military one: expendable civilian targets.

n.  Something expendable.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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