1. the quality or state of being able to be used up, consumed, or spent without significant loss or regret
2. the quality of being considered unimportant or replaceable, especially in a military or organizational context
Usage: often used in military or business contexts

Examples

• The expendability of plastic bags has led to increased efforts to reduce their use.
• In the military strategy, soldiers were treated with a sense of expendability that troubled many observers.
• The company viewed temporary workers as having high expendability compared to permanent staff.
• Modern consumer culture emphasizes the expendability of goods rather than their durability.
• The expendability of resources in wartime differs greatly from peacetime management.
• Critics argued that the policy reflected a troubling view of human expendability.