jettison

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 4, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>jettison</strong> &#149; \JET-uh-sun\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Jettison</em> means, literally, "to throw (something) overboard to lighten a ship or aircraft in distress"; figuratively, it means "to get rid of (something)."</p> <p>// The coach was <em>jettisoned</em> after the team failed to make the playoffs for the third straight year.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jettison">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"… [U.S. President Joseph Biden] and his aides continued to work with key members of Congress on what could stay in the bill and what could be <em>jettisoned</em>…." — Bill Powell, <em>Newsweek</em>, 12 Nov. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Jettison</em> comes from Anglo-French <em>geteson</em>, which means literally "action of throwing" and is related to the Latin verb <em>jactare</em>, meaning "to throw." The noun <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jettison#h2">jettison</a></em> refers to a voluntary sacrifice of cargo to lighten a ship's load in time of distress, and it is the source of the word <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jetsam">jetsam</a></em> (the name for goods "jettisoned"); the word is often paired with <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flotsam">flotsam</a></em> ("floating wreckage"). These days you don't have to be on a sinking ship to "jettison" something: the verb also means simply "to get rid of."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>