expendable
英 [ɪk'spendəbl] 美 [ɪk'spendəbl]
adj.可消耗的；可牺牲的 n.消耗品；牺牲品
GRE
◉Etymology
“Expendable” 这个单词的词源可以追溯到拉丁语的 “expendere”，意为 “用尽、花费”，由 “ex-”（表示"出去"）和 “pendere”（表示"挂、称量"）构成。在英语中，“expendable” 的主要含义是 “可牺牲的、可消耗的”，通常用来描述某些物品或人员在特定情况下可以被牺牲或使用完毕。
◉外刊例句
① In this strategy, drones are seen as expendable assets that can replace human pilots. 《卫报》 - 2023年6月
在这种战略中，无人机被视为可以替代人类飞行员的可牺牲资源。
② For the company, only a few positions are crucial, while other employees may be seen as expendable. 《纽约时报》 - 2023年9月
对于公司来说，只有几个岗位是非常关键的，其他员工可能被视为可替代的。
③ In this space mission, fuel and food are absolutely non-expendable, but other equipment can be adjusted as needed. CNN - 2023年11月
在这场宇宙飞船任务中，燃料和食物是绝对不可牺牲的，但其他设备可以根据需要进行调整。
◉Usage Examples
(1) We need more expendable office supplies.
(2) The officer regarded his soldiers as expendable.
(1) 我们需要更多的办公室消耗品。
(2) 这军官认为可以牺牲他的士兵。
◉Usage Notes
Anything expendable is not necessary — it can be done without. If you lose or use expendable funds, you won't miss the money.
None of us wants to be called expendable — that means we could be replaced. If a football team isn't worried about certain players leaving for another team, then those players are expendable: they won't be missed and won't disrupt things if they leave. In war, some people are considered more expendable than others: a soldier is more expendable than a general, because there are far fewer generals. In any country, the least expendable person is the president or other leader of the nation. That's why they get so much protection from their security guards, who are considered much more expendable.
◉Colins
1[ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]可牺牲的；可抛弃的 If you regard someone or something as expendable, you think it is acceptable to get rid of them, abandon them, or allow them to be destroyed when they are no longer needed. [FORMAL 正式]
Once our services cease to be useful to them, we're expendable...
一旦我们的服务对他们不再有用，我们就可能被抛弃。
During the recession, training budgets were seen as an expendable luxury.
在经济衰退期间，培训预算被认为是一项可以节省下来的奢侈费用。
...an expendable rocket.
不可回收火箭
