throwaway
part of speech
adjective (throwaway); noun (a throwaway, throwaways)
meaning for a pupil
1) Throwaway things are made to be used once or for a short time and then thrown away: throwaway cups, throwaway razors. tree →
2) A throwaway remark or line is said quickly and casually, without much thought, though it may matter. tree →
3) "Throwaway culture" or "throwaway society" means people buying cheap things and throwing them away too fast, which wastes resources and makes pollution. tree →
4) (noun) A throwaway is something thrown away or treated as unimportant. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, geography and citizenship lessons it appears with waste, plastics, recycling and climate change: reduce, reuse, recycle. In English lessons a throwaway line in a story might be a clue. Phrases: "throwaway plastic", "throwaway comment", "throwaway society", "throwaway fashion".
examples
- Throwaway plastic cups fill up rubbish dumps. tree →
- Our school is trying to stop using throwaway bottles. tree →
- It was just a throwaway comment, but it hurt her feelings. tree →
- The detective noticed a throwaway line that was actually a clue. tree →
- We live in a throwaway society. tree →
- Throwaway fashion means clothes are worn a few times and binned. tree →
- Bring a reusable bag instead of a throwaway one. tree →
note
One word when it comes before a noun (a throwaway cup); two words as a verb: "throw away the rubbish". Close words: disposable, single-use.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «throwaway» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.