Dictionary

An expendable person or object; usually used in the plural.

Example: Private Johnson was afraid the Lieutenant considered him an expendable, since he was always picked as point man.

Able to be expended; not inexhaustible.

Example: Oil and other expendable resources are frequently the subject of military disputes.

Designed for a single use; not reusable.

Example: The anti-aircraft rocket is fired from an expendable launch platform.

Not essential or mandatory in order to achieve a goal.

Example: The research department was deemed expendable, and its funding was not renewed.

Regarded as not worth preserving or saving; able to be sacrificed.

Example: In the internecine rivalries of large corporations, whole departments may become expendable in the execution of one executive's power play.