derelicts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of derelict.

   Salvage crews towed two rusting derelicts into the harbor last spring.

   The coast guard marks floating derelicts so passing ships can steer clear.

   Note

   A plain -s plural that serves every meaning of the noun, so context does the sorting: salvage crews tow derelicts, while a speaker who calls people derelicts is passing judgment. Said of homeless or jobless people it keeps the full scorn of the singular and lands as an insult. In American use it can also brand officials who neglect their duty, a charge rather than a description.

2. 2
   verbobsolete

   Third-person singular simple present of derelict.

   Note

   A verb English has let go: derelict once meant to abandon someone or to neglect a duty, and this was its present form for he, she or it. Only the noun and adjective survive, so a modern reader meets the spelling as the plural noun, and a sentence like he derelicts his post would now read as a mistake.

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