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expendable

/ɪkˈspɛndəbəl/adjective, noun

expendable is spelled E-X-P-E-N-D-A-B-L-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, expendable means “Able to be expended; not inexhaustible” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in expendable?

Letters10: E-X-P-E-N-D-A-B-L-E
Syllables4 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 30,418th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is expendable?

Expendable appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce expendable?

  • /ɪkˈspɛndəbəl/

Expendable has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-expendable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of expendable

  • more expendable comparative
  • most expendable superlative
  • expendables plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does expendable mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Able to be expended; not inexhaustible.

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

  2. 2

    Designed for a single use; not reusable.

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

  3. 3

    Not essential or mandatory in order to achieve a goal.

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

  4. 4

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

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

noun

  1. 1

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

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

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Expendable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchconsommable (able to be expended), jetable (designed for a single use), facultatif (not essential or mandatory), sacrifiable (not worth preserving or saving)
Germanerschöpflich, erschöpfbar, begrenzt vorhanden, endlich (able to be expended), nicht wiederverwertbar, einweg- (designed for a single use)
Portugueseesgotável (able to be expended), descartável (designed for a single use), sacrificável (not worth preserving or saving)
Spanishagotable (able to be expended), desechable, fungible (designed for a single use), prescindible, expendible, defectible (not essential or mandatory)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does expendable come from?

From expend + -able.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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