What does jetsam mean?
Jetsam means goods or cargo thrown overboard from a ship, usually because the vessel needs to become lighter, often in an emergency. The word is especially associated with maritime and salvage contexts, but it can also refer more broadly to material deliberately discarded. It is frequently contrasted with flotsam: flotsam is debris floating on the water, whereas jetsam is the cargo that was thrown overboard. The expression “jetsam and flotsam” has become a familiar metaphor for miscellaneous discarded or ruined things. Jetsam is most useful as a precise maritime term rather than a general synonym for rubbish, although its figurative use conveys the deliberate abandonment of things considered expendable.
nounCargo or other goods thrown overboard from a ship, especially when a vessel must be lightened in an emergency. The term can also refer generally to discarded or jettisoned material.
- Goods or cargo thrown overboard from a ship.
- Material that has been discarded or jettisoned.
"The crew threw heavy cargo overboard as jetsam to keep the damaged vessel afloat."
"The lifeboat was loaded with passengers while food and fuel were cast overboard as jetsam."
"The report described the debris as jetsam, including containers and equipment discarded from the vessel."
Normally used as an uncountable mass noun; “jetsams” is possible in specialist contexts but is uncommon in ordinary use.
"The vessel was forced to discard several tonnes of jetsam."
When a ship must survive by getting lighter, its unwanted cargo can literally become jetsam—objects sent over the side into the sea.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does jetsam come from?
Jetsam developed as an alteration of jettison, a term originally referring to the throwing of goods overboard. Jettison itself comes through Old French from Latin ejectio, a noun related to ejicere, “to throw out.” In modern English, jetsam has become especially associated with goods cast from a ship, while jettison can retain a broader sense of deliberate abandonment.
How jetsam is actually used
Chiefly nautical and technical. It is often used collectively or as an uncountable mass noun, though the plural “jetsams” is possible in specialist usage.
Easily confused with jetsam
Flotsam is floating wreckage or debris found at sea, whereas jetsam is goods that have been deliberately thrown overboard, whether or not they sink.
Jettison can name the act of throwing goods overboard, while jetsam usually names the goods that are thrown or found afterward.