throwing away 1 of 2

noun

as in removal
the getting rid of whatever is unwanted or useless the throwing away of her old stuffed animals marked the beginning of her mental preparation for an independent life as a college student

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

throwing away

2 of 2

verb

present participle of throw away
1
as in dumping
to get rid of as useless or unwanted I should throw away that torn shirt

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spending
to use up carelessly if you buy a high-end computer, you'll just be throwing away money on a bunch of features you'll never use

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of throwing away
Verb
The New York Sanitation Department is telling New Yorkers to stop throwing away their needles the wrong way. — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026 Residents described throwing away food, shelling out for generators and sending their children away to family. — Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 20 Aug. 2026 That means throwing away anything sitting on your kitchen counter. — Emma Jacobson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 Aug. 2026 Her designers even went to great lengths, throwing away fake scraps of fabric in the trash and creating a second dress in case the original got leaked. — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026 Knowing what those dates really mean will help Californians make informed decisions and avoid throwing away food unnecessarily while getting more value from every trip to the grocery store. — Leeann Weintraub, Oc Register, 25 July 2026 Relocating, composting or throwing away the vines could result in the spread of the disease. — Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 13 July 2026 When preparing lettuce, the state recommended throwing away the outer two or three layers of leaves and washing the remaining lettuce under running water. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 9 July 2026 The lawsuit was unusual in the capital city, where homeless people have little recourse to challenge city policies about throwing away their belongings. — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for throwing away
  1. removal
  2. dumping
  3. spending
  4. disposal
  5. unloading
  6. running through
  7. discarding
  8. losing
Noun
  • The slump followed the removal of the de minimis exemption in the US, Shein’s second largest market after Europe.
    — John Liu, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Keep in mind, these cost estimates don’t include any demo or removal of whatever previous flooring was installed.
    — Jason Rueger, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of removal
Verb
  • Hawaii cleans up after Hurricane Lala Communities struggled to recover after Tropical Storm Lala sideswiped Hawaii as a Category 1 hurricane, sparing the islands a direct hit but dumping more than 3½ feet of rain that caused catastrophic flooding.
    — Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Tasks included scooping and dumping sand or gravel, digging and grading trenches, clearing debris from roads, removing tree branches from water edges, and breaking up rocks.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of dumping
Verb
  • Willy Kurniawan | Reuters Indonesia may have trouble meeting its economic-growth goals for the coming year, after spending 2026 on the defensive amid questions about fiscal outlays and the prospects of a downgrade from MSCI.
    — Celestine Iyer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • For now, the Coalition for Prediction Markets is spending a fraction of Kalshi’s direct lobbying expenses.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of spending
Noun
  • The eurozone is the world’s third-largest economy and its second-largest source of demand, so Europe has economic power at its disposal.
    — MICHAEL PETTIS, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
  • If Europe gathers substantially more unwanted clothing without creating that accompanying infrastructure, greater volumes could instead flow into reuse exports, downcycling, incineration or disposal.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of disposal
Verb
  • The world’s first self-unloading electric bulk carrier, powered by a massive 6,758-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery system, has officially entered commercial service in the land Down Under.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Welcomed by Herky the Hornet, the cheer team and the campus community, the students and their families checked in before unloading their belongings and setting up their new rooms.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of unloading
Verb
  • Officials briefly closed a portion of the scenic coastal route Thursday afternoon as firefighters scrambled to keep the flames from running through canyons.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The company has a seven-year berthing agreement in Philadelphia, running through March 2033.
    — Nikki DeMentri, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of running through
Verb
  • On Day 2, stir mixture and measure out 110 g (1/2 cup) of starter into a fresh container, discarding the rest (at this point, the discard is not ready to be used in recipes).
    — Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The cruise line submitted a subsequent report detailing a range of corrective actions, from rewashing coffee urns to discarding the tray of bread where the fly was found.
    — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of discarding
Verb
  • A week after losing 49-35 to Batavia, Maine South came out strong in all three phases of the game.
    — Bobby Narang, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The Chiefs continue their preseason losing streak, but as The Star’s Sam McDowell writes, the next one counts.
    — Dominick Williams, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of losing

Browse Nearby Words

throwing
throwing away
throwing back
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Throwing away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/throwing%20away. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of conscientious

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All