throw under the bus
English · Thesaurus
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throw under the bus
Where it comes from
Attested from the early 1980s, possibly of UK origin.
verb throws under the bus · throwing under the bus · threw under the bus · thrown under the bus · throw under a bus
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To betray or blame (something or someone); to deliberately put (something or someone) in an unfavorable situation and then leave to their fate; to make (something or someone) into a scapegoat or otherwise abandon for personal gain.
"A person who does things for me and befriended me and helped me out when I needed help, I'm certainly not going to throw them under the bus," she said.
Similar: sacrifice, sell down the river, throw to the wolves
-
To discard or disown.
A recent magazine article discussed the need to throw under the bus worn-out cultural catchphrases, with the first being “throw under the bus.”
Similar: reject
Translations
Every language
verb betray
Talk about this word "throw under the bus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/throw%20under%20the%20bus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. throw under the bus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/throw%20under%20the%20bus "throw under the bus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/throw%20under%20the%20bus.Cite this
@misc{throw_under_the_bus_2026,
title = {throw under the bus},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/throw%20under%20the%20bus},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
