to jettison cargo

1 7.6

To throw things off a ship or plane to make it lighter

phrasal verb
/ˈdʒɛtɪsən ˈkɑrɡoʊ/

: arrojar carga

To avoid sinking, the pilot decided to jettison cargo as quickly as possible.

Examples

Jettison your cargo and run.

South Sea Woman (1953)
During the storm, the captain had to jettison cargo to prevent the ship from capsizing.
The crew was instructed to jettison cargo if the aircraft became too heavy to land safely.

Synonyms

to drop

vsto jettison cargo

722 2.7

To take someone or something from a vehicle and leave them at a place

is done to lighten load in emergencies rather than just leaving items somewhere

to dump

vsto jettison cargo

541 2.6

To drop or throw things away in a careless way

is a deliberate removal to reduce weight, not a careless waste disposal

to throw out

vsto jettison cargo

202 1.8

To put something in the trash because you do not want it

is specifically about removing items to reduce vehicle weight in an emergency

to jettison

vsto jettison cargo

29 7.8

Throw things from a ship or plane to make it lighter

is the same action but focuses on tossing goods specifically to reduce weight

to throw overboard

vsto jettison cargo

NSFW

5 4.8

To throw someone or something from a boat into water

is used for removing items to reduce vehicle weight, not only into water

to chuck out

vsto jettison cargo

1 5.0

To force someone to leave a place usually because they cause trouble

is focused on throwing goods from vehicles to lighten load, not on ejecting people

How Forceful

to jettison cargo

1 7.6

to discard

130 2.7

to offload

11 3.9

Surface Forms

jettison cargo infinitive

jettisoned cargo past

jettisoned cargo past participle

jettisoning cargo present participle

jettisons cargo third person singular

Morphology

jettison + cargo

The verb 'jettison' already means to drop items to reduce weight and 'cargo' means goods being transported, so the combined meaning 'to throw goods overboard or out of a vehicle to lighten the load' is directly and transparently derivable from the constituents. This is a regular verb + object composition (literal, not idiomatic), so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand the MWE without prior exposure.

Etymology

Jettison cargo comes from the literal act of throwing cargo off a ship or plane in an emergency so the ship or plane becomes lighter. Sailors and pilots would jettison heavy items to stop a ship from sinking or to help a plane land safely. So today it means 'to throw goods overboard or out of a vehicle to reduce weight in an emergency'.