Meaning & use
non-expendable
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounformaltechnical
Not meant to be used up, thrown away, or replaced after a single use; kept for long-term or repeated use.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: non-expendable equipment. It is not usually used after a verb.
Patterns
- non-expendable items
- non-expendable property
The lab keeps its non-expendable tools locked in a separate cabinet.
In the army, trucks and radios are classified as non-expendable property.
Unlike paper clips, this non-expendable device is expected to last for years.
adjectivebefore a nounformalbusiness
Not able to be sacrificed or given up; considered too important to lose.
Grammar: Used before a noun, often in business or strategic talk: a non-expendable asset.
Patterns
- non-expendable asset
- non-expendable resource
The manager treated her best engineers as non-expendable staff.
Clean water is a non-expendable resource in the region.
He argued that the company's reputation was non-expendable.
Common combinations
- non-expendable equipment
- The team listed all non-expendable equipment before the move.
- non-expendable property
- Non-expendable property must be recorded in the inventory.
- non-expendable supplies
- The school budget covers non-expendable supplies such as microscopes.
- non-expendable asset
- They viewed the factory as a non-expendable asset.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reusable
- Focuses on being used again, not on whether it can be thrown away; non-expendable is more formal and often about accounting or property.
- durable
- Means it lasts a long time, but non-expendable specifically contrasts with items that are used up or discarded.
Opposites
Word family
- expendable adjective
- Able to be used up or sacrificed; the opposite of non-expendable.
- expend verb
- To use up or spend something, such as money or energy.
Commonly confused: non-expendable or expandable? non-expendable or expendable?
non-expendable vs expandable
Sounds similar but means 'able to grow larger', not 'not to be used up'.
non-expendable vs expendable
The opposite meaning; without non-, it means something you can afford to lose or use up.
Practice
The company treats its delivery vans as ______ property, so they are kept for many years.
Choose one answer.
'Non-expendable' fits because the vans are kept for many years, not used up or thrown away. 'Expendable' and 'disposable' mean the opposite, and 'temporary' is about time, not property classification.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “non-expendable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.