expendable
1
7.1
- noun
- /ɪkˈspɛndəbl/
- Offensive
:
carne de cañón
- During the mission, the team realized that they had become expendables, expected to make sacrifices for the greater good.
They bring in individuals, they're considered Expendables, they're used and then they're discarded.
- They bring in individuals, they're considered Expendables, they're used and then they're discarded.
Examples
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They bring in individuals, they're considered Expendables, they're used and then they're discarded.
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I just don't want to be an expendable tool.
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So as as individuals, everybody in a company can be expendable, but nobody's perfect, but teams can be.
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The problem, of course, is that there I was, trapped among the expendables.
Fiction book (1990) -
I just think that like there's this increasing sense that people are expendable and and replaceable.
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When working with the expendables of society, there certainly is less cultural pretense about what you should do—at least that's how it goes at my work.
Blog text (23) -
In the company's eyes, employees are often seen as expendable resources that can be easily replaced.
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The manager referred to the interns as expendables, implying that their contributions were not critical to the project's success.
Synonyms
1
5.6
A thing that is not needed
Antonyms
How Expendable
Surface Forms
Morphology
expendable = expendable (semi-transparent) = expend + able
The noun use is a straightforward substantivization of the adjective 'expendable', but the meaning has a slight shift toward 'a person or thing that can be sacrificed'.
Etymology
Expendable as a noun comes from the same Latin parts ex- 'out' and pendere 'to pay', related to everyday words like spend and expense. So calling a person an expendable means they are seen as someone who can be 'used up' or replaced, not essential.