Discard

/dɪsˈkɑːrd/

verbBeginner📊CommonAction
1 meaning2 idioms/phrases3 questions

Definitions

1

To throw away or reject something.

/dɪsˈkɑːrd/

verbneutralBeginner
Action

To throw away or get rid of something because it is no longer wanted or needed.

I decided to discard the book after I finished reading it.

💡 Simply: Imagine you're cleaning your room. When you find something you don't want or need anymore, like a broken toy or an old drawing, you 'discard' it – you throw it away!

👶 For kids: To throw something away that you don't want anymore.

More Examples

2

She discarded the email without reading it.

3

We should discard any old food in the refrigerator.

4

The company decided to discard their outdated technology.

How It's Used

General

"He discarded the old newspapers."

Games

"Players often discard unwanted cards."

Technology

"The company discarded the outdated software."

Synonyms & Antonyms

Idioms & expressions

discarded history

Events or perspectives that have been intentionally or unintentionally forgotten or ignored.

"The exhibition unearthed discarded history, showing that the struggles of the working class were much more complex."

discard a thought

To dismiss or reject an idea.

"She quickly discarded the thought of moving to another city."

From Old French *descarier* meaning 'to unload, put away, abandon,' derived from Latin *dis-* (away) + *carrus* (cart).

Historically, the word was used in the context of abandoning ships or equipment in warfare or when traveling.

Memory tip

Think of a card game – when you don't need a card, you discard it.

Word Origin

LanguageOld French and Latin
Original meaning

"To remove something from use or keep"

discard an ideadiscard a plandiscard evidencediscard a carddiscard unwanted

Common misspellings

disgarddiscareddiscrad

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written