expendables
Acceptable losses, essentially
Expendables are people or things considered acceptable to sacrifice or use up in pursuit of a goal.
The term often appears in military contexts for soldiers assigned to high-casualty missions, or for equipment not expected to survive deployment.
More broadly, it describes workers or resources treated as replaceable: The company viewed temp workers as expendables.
The noun derives from the adjective expendable, meaning not worth preserving.
Military personnel who fight
- troopsMilitary personnel collectively
- mercenariesSoldiers paid to fight
- gruntsShort, guttural sounds
- cannon fodderTroops treated as disposable
infantry · recruits · operatives · commandos · privates · frontline · casualties · squads
Items requiring regular replacement
- ammunitionWeapon projectiles and charges
- bulletsFirearm projectiles
- cartridgesEncased charges for firing
- fuelEnergy source material
rations · batteries · bandages · provisions · munitions · grenades · flares · medical supplies
Italian-American action film actor
- SchwarzeneggerAustrian bodybuilder politician
- actionProcess of doing
- sequelContinuation of prior work
- ensembleUnified group or outfit
mercenaries · Statham · franchise · blockbuster · Willis · Norris · Li · Couture
Brief-term employees
- contractorsHired service providers
- internsWorkers gaining supervised experience
- layoffsMass job eliminations
- downsizingReducing workforce or scale
redundancies · outsourced · replaceable · workforce · hires · seasonal · freelancers · gig workers
Subject to personal judgment
- nonessentialNot required or needed
- cuttableCapable of being severed
- trimmedCut to neaten
- sacrificedGave up something valued
eliminated · optional · surplus · secondary · peripheral · low-priority · reducible · flexible
soldiers
Military personnel who fight
- troopsMilitary personnel collectively
- mercenariesSoldiers paid to fight
- gruntsShort, guttural sounds
cannon fodder · infantry · recruits · operatives · commandos · privates · frontline · casualties · squads · platoons
consumables
Items requiring regular replacement
- ammunitionWeapon projectiles and charges
- bulletsFirearm projectiles
- cartridgesEncased charges for firing
fuel · rations · batteries · bandages · provisions · munitions · grenades · flares · medical supplies · rounds
Stallone
Italian-American action film actor
- SchwarzeneggerAustrian bodybuilder politician
- actionProcess of doing
- sequelContinuation of prior work
ensemble · mercenaries · Statham · franchise · blockbuster · Willis · Norris · Li · Couture · testosterone
temps
Brief-term employees
- contractorsHired service providers
- internsWorkers gaining supervised experience
- layoffsMass job eliminations
downsizing · redundancies · outsourced · replaceable · workforce · hires · seasonal · freelancers · gig workers · probationary
discretionary
Subject to personal judgment
- nonessentialNot required or needed
- cuttableCapable of being severed
- trimmedCut to neaten
sacrificed · eliminated · optional · surplus · secondary · peripheral · low-priority · reducible · flexible · negotiable
- consumablesfood, drink, beverages, beverage, groceries
- expendable soldierscannon fodder, disposables, fresh meat, warm bodies, redshirts
- underlingsunderling, underlings, subordinate, minions, minion
- extrasextra, add-ons, add-on, extras, addition
expendablesindispensables
Things one cannot lack
essentials · linchpins · crown jewels · cornerstones · protected class
expendablesVIPs
Notable people, abbreviated
brass · leadership · principals · high command · decision-makers
expendablesdurables
Items resisting quick wear
capital goods · fixed assets · reusables · permanents · hard goods
- The ExpendablesThose deemed replaceable