discontinued

IPA/ˌdɪs.kənˈtɪn.juːd/
KK[dɪskəntˈɪnjud]IPA/ˌdɪs.kənˈtɪn.juːd/

discontinued — adjective

  • discontinuedpositive
  • more discontinuedcomparative
  • most discontinuedsuperlative

1. describes a product, service, or item that a company has stopped making, selling

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a product, service, or item that a company has stopped making, selling, or providing, often because it was not selling well or was replaced by something newer.

Example

The store still has a few discontinued laptop models on the clearance shelf.

collocation: discontinued + [product/model/item]

Many customers complained when the company stopped offering the discontinued phone service.

attributive use before noun

Common collocations
  • discontinued product
  • discontinued model
  • discontinued service
  • discontinued line
  • discontinued item
  • discontinued series
  • discontinued brand
Synonyms
  • obsolete

    stronger focus on being outdated or no longer useful, not just stopped

  • phased out

    emphasises a gradual removal rather than an abrupt stop

  • out of production

    less formal, specifically about manufacturing

  • discontinued line

    used when referring to a whole series or range of products

Antonyms
  • current

    still being produced or offered at the present time

  • available

    still obtainable from the company or store

Grammar Patterns

discontinued + noun

be discontinued

Usage Note

Often appears before nouns related to retail and manufacturing such as product, model, line, service, or item. Can also be used predicatively after linking verbs like be, become, or remain.

Common Mistakes

This bread is discontinued because it expired.
This bread is out of date because it expired.
'Discontinued' refers to a company's decision to stop production, not to food going bad.
The discontinued the old website.
The company discontinued the old website.
As an adjective, 'discontinued' modifies a noun; it cannot replace the past-tense verb form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three alternatives describe something that is no longer available from its maker. Obsolete carries a stronger judgment: it suggests the item is outdated or no longer useful, not merely unsold. A rotary phone is obsolete, while last year's phone model is simply discontinued. Phased out emphasises a gradual, planned withdrawal — a company might phase out a product over six months — whereas discontinued can happen overnight. Out of production is the most literal and informal; it applies only to manufactured goods, not services. In business contexts, discontinued is the safest neutral term: 'The company discontinued the laptop line due to low sales' sounds factual, while 'obsolete' would feel critical.

obsolete ↗phased out ↗out of production ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • permanently discontinued
  • recently discontinued
  • officially discontinued

Phrases

  • be discontinued
  • become discontinued
  • remain discontinued
  • declare discontinued

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin discontinuare, combining dis- (meaning 'not' or 'apart') and continuare ('to continue'). The word entered English via Old French discontinuer in the late 1400s. The adjective form discontinued (describing something that has been stopped) became common in commercial contexts during the 20th century.