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garbage

garbage

166 1.0
A container where people put waste to be taken away
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɑːrbɪdʒ/
  • US
: cubo de basura
  • Please put the old newspapers in the garbage bin.
  • a garbage can
  • a garbage bag
  • a garbage cart

And he's like, look, let's put our garbage in the garbage cans, OK?

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Examples

  • They usually pick up the garbage in an hour.

  • The City Council awarded a contract last month to replace 3,000 garbage cans with multicompartment recycling.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Here we go with the garbage can.

  • Maybe over by the garbage can.

  • Take it out to the garbage, please.

  • One day I was sitting at home, my mother asked me to take the garbage out.

  • If someone looked in your bathroom garbage right now, what would they find?

    Academic text (2011)
  • Uh, you can take out the garbage.

  • Then I emptied the waste cans into the kitchen garbage and took the bag outside.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • And he's like, look, let's put our garbage in the garbage cans, OK?

Synonyms

dumpster
vsgarbage
  • US
180 2.7

A large metal container for holding garbage outside buildings

is the general container concept, not focused on industrial or large storage
bin
vsgarbage
146 1.0

A container with a lid for storing or throwing away things

is the general container term specifically for placing waste for disposal
trash can
vsgarbage
  • US
90 1.0

A container for holding rubbish until it is collected

is the broader label for any container used to place waste for disposal
garbage can
vsgarbage
  • US
71 1.0

A bin with a lid that holds household waste until someone takes it away

is the general container term not limited to household use
trash bag
vsgarbage
  • US
25 1.0

A strong plastic bag used to hold and carry garbage

is the broader fixed container notion, not the flexible bag form
wastebasket
vsgarbage
  • US
13 1.0

A container with an open top for holding paper and small bits of rubbish

covers all container types, not only small open topped ones
trash bin
vsgarbage
  • US
11 1.0

A container for holding rubbish until it is taken away

is the general container concept used for placing waste for disposal
waste basket
vsgarbage
  • US
5 1.3

A container with an open top for small trash like paper

is the general container term for waste placement not limited to small items
trash barrel
vsgarbage
  • US
3 1.1

A large round bin for holding rubbish until someone collects it

is the general container term and not limited to large cylindrical forms
wastebin
vsgarbage
  • UK
1 1.0

A bin for rubbish kept until it is collected

is the overarching container term rather than this regional variant
rubbish bag
vsgarbage
  • UK
1 1.0

A strong plastic bag used to hold household waste

is a rigid or fixed container concept rather than a disposable bag
designated bin
vsgarbage
1 3.0

A container for a specific kind of waste, for example food or batteries

is the broad container idea not restricted to a specified waste type
litter-basket
vsgarbage
  • UK
1.5

A bin in public places where people put trash

is the broad container concept used in many places, not only public spots
ash-bin
vsgarbage
1.6

A container for household rubbish that collectors empty

is the general term for any container used to place waste for disposal

Compounds

71 1.0

A bin with a lid that holds household waste until someone takes it away

26 1.8

A large truck that collects and carries household waste

25 2.7

A device under a kitchen sink that grinds food waste so it goes down the drain

piece of garbage
  • Informal
22 1.7

A thing that is useless and not worth keeping

19 1.7

A person who collects trash from homes and takes it away

13 1.0

A place where people take and leave large amounts of waste

A person who collects and removes trash from homes and businesses

Picking up and taking away household or business trash

garbage scow
  • Archaic
2 7.4

A flat boat that carries trash from harbors or rivers

2 2.3

A large pile of things that people have thrown away

2 1.3

A service that takes away trash from homes or businesses

garbage collection
  • Specialized
1 3.8

An automatic process that frees memory no longer used by a program

1 3.0

A person or company that collects and takes away trash

A large area of floating trash in the ocean carried there by currents

1 2.8

A woman who collects and takes away trash from homes and streets

9.4

A rude name people use for a place that is dirty and badly run

A person who collects and takes away rubbish from homes

How Big

dumpster
  • US
180 2.7
wheelie
  • UK
1 4.5
garbage
  • US
166 1.0
trash can
  • US
90 1.0
wastebasket
  • US
13 1.0

Surface Forms

garbage singular
garbages plural
bins plural
bin singular

Etymology

Garbage also came to mean the container because people named the bin after the 'waste' put in it. So a 'garbage' can mean both the trash and the bin that holds it.