Excuse me? Could anyone advise me please?

I just started playing Skyrim a few days ago.(on the X Box 360)
I had played the Elder Scrolls series and Oblivion in the past, so I'm really enjoying the story and game so far.
I'm a bit stuck with something for now, and have a question please?

Is there any option to drop a weapon or piece of armor from your items list / inventory if you DON'T.... want to keep it and want to throw it away?

I'm aware that you can probably sell stuff at vendors in the various cities, but I have found myself in a situation where I really need to drop the item straight away without waiting until I get to a vendor.

Last night, I was venturing around...... I think it's called Bleak Falls Temple.... yes?
Anyway, I had quite a few items in my inventory, then I looted a chest and picked up a heavy axe.
This had instantly caused my character to slow down.... walking at snails pace due to an overloaded inventory and becoming encumbered.


When I'm half way through a dungeon crawl, it's definitely not an option to wait til I get to a vendor to sell stuff!
I actually found myself re-loading a previous saved game a few times when I picked up items which had encumbered me.
This can be a bit annoying at times.

So instead of reloading a previous save, is there an option to drop the item on the ground instead?
How do I do this please? (This is on the X Box 360)

Press X on the item when you have it highlighted in your inventory.

Select the item you want to drop in your inventory and look at the bottom left of the screen. There will be a notice showing you what button you press if you wish to drop that item.

Wow, I wouldn't go around telling people that you don't know how to drop items. Eh, not as bad as people I've seen who didn't know how to sprint...

Welcome, LittleMissie. Don't worry about the grumpy people here. They don't know better. Posts 2 and 3 gave the correct answers.

Thank you for the very helpful replies guys, and for the warm welcome too from Madice.
Much appreciated.

I'm really sorry if this is something which should have been obvious to me.
But I have slightly odd picture dimensions on my T.V. which are not completely compatible with those used for the X Box 360.
it's enough that I can clearly see a lot of things happening on the screen around me, but whenever there are any little notes or messages of any kind
at the top or bottom of my screen, it gets cut off and I cannot read what it says.
Hence my inability to know what to do with items that I want to get rid of for e.g.

I played another game for the X Box too - Fable 2.
It was the same issue there too. But I was able to cope mostly fine anyway.

Thanks again for the replies.