phrasal verb🧩 phrasal verb

throw away

to discard in trash

What it means

To get rid of something you no longer want by putting it in the rubbish. It can also mean to waste an opportunity, advantage, or relationship.

Examples

  • Don't throw those batteries away — they need to go to a recycling point.
  • She threw away all her old love letters when she moved house.
  • He threw away a brilliant career by getting involved in fraud.
  • You shouldn't throw away a chance like this to study abroad.

Where it comes from

Separable phrasal verb. British English speakers sometimes prefer 'throw out'; the figurative sense of wasting an opportunity dates from the early 1500s.

Related phrasal verbs

#put away#give away#throw up#get rid of

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