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ashtray

ashtray

87 1.4
A small container for holding ash and cigarette or cigar butts
  • noun
  • /ˈæʃˌtreɪ/
translation icon : cenicero
  • After finishing his cigar, he placed it in the ashtray to avoid littering.

And there's not a lot of people currently making ashtrays and stuff like that.

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Examples

  • A half-empty whiskey bottle and an ashtray full of butts are on the night table: last night's partying.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • A fat black cigar smoldered in an ashtray in front of him.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • This is an ashtray, a very heavy ashtray, right?

  • Looked like an ashtray to me.

  • This is an ashtray that tells you no smoking.

  • "Mother put out her cigarette in the ashtray and said, "Where did you learn to talk like that?"

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I heard my mother pound a cigarette butt into an ashtray on the table.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Dana looked around for an ashtray, then tapped her cigarette on a dirty lunch plate.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • There was a stand-up ashtray filled with Prince Albert tobacco ashes and burnt matchsticks.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • "Angelo leaned forward and tapped the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray, then leaned back.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

ashcan
vsashtray
  • Archaic
1 5.5

A metal container for holding ashes and other rubbish until it is taken away

is meant for ash and smoking butts in places where people smoke
ashbin
vsashtray
  • UK
1 4.8

A container that holds rubbish until someone empties it

is mainly for holding ash and cigarette or cigar butts where people smoke
ash-bin
vsashtray
1.6

A container for household rubbish that collectors empty

is designed for ash and small smoking leftovers at places people smoke
ash bin
vsashtray
  • Archaic
2.3

A container for cold ashes and small pieces of household trash

is used for ash and cigarette or cigar butts near smoking areas

How Big

dumpster
  • US
190 2.7
dustbin
  • UK
10 1.0
ash-bin
1.6
trash can
  • US
72 1.0
ashtray
87 1.4

Surface Forms

ashtray singular
ashtrays plural

Morphology

ashtray = ash + tray (transparent) = ash + tray

The meaning is a direct combination of 'ash' + 'tray' and clearly denotes a container for ash.

Etymology

Ashtray is made from two simple words: ash ('burnt remains') and tray ('shallow dish'). So an ashtray is a small dish for holding ash and cigarette butts, which is exactly what the name says.