A castaway is someone stranded in an isolated place, especially after a shipwreck, with no way to get home. The word comes from the idea of being “cast away” from civilization, left behind where help cannot easily reach you.

The most famous castaway in literature is Robinson Crusoe, who spent 28 years alone on an island after his ship sank. Real castaways have survived on remote islands throughout history, living on whatever food they could find and hoping desperately for a passing ship. Being a castaway means being truly isolated, cut off from the world you knew, forced to survive with only your wits and whatever resources you can scavenge.

Today, people use castaway more loosely to describe anyone who feels abandoned or left out. A student sitting alone at lunch might feel like a castaway, separated from friends. The word carries its strongest meaning when it refers to genuine isolation: someone stranded on a deserted island, watching the horizon for rescue, and wondering if anyone will ever find them.