To throw something off a ship, aircraft, or vehicle to lighten the load or get rid of it. It can also mean to abandon an idea, plan, or belief.
From Old French “getaison,” from Late Latin “jactatio,” meaning “a throwing,” from Latin “jactare,” “to throw.” It originally referred to cargo thrown overboard in emergencies. The meaning later expanded to dropping anything unnecessary, physically or metaphorically.
“Jettison” is basically the emergency “dump it!” button in one fancy word. Spacecraft, planes, and ships all jettison things when survival matters more than cargo. In everyday speech, we’ve turned that life-or-death action into a way to talk about ditching bad ideas.
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