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garbage truck

garbage truck

23 1.8
A large truck that collects and carries household waste
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɑːrbɪdʒ trʌk/
  • US
translation icon : camión de basura
  • Every Wednesday morning, the garbage truck comes to pick up the trash from the neighborhood.
  • garbage truck driver
  • hit a garbage truck
  • garbage truck is parked

Because he went to McDonald's and drove a garbage truck.

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Examples

  • Andy and Serafine stuck behind a garbage truck on a narrow street.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • There should be a garbage truck coming through sometime after midnight.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Oh, the garbage truck came right here.

  • This time make sure you put it in the garbage truck.

  • No, we called a garbage truck.

  • On Friday, one half hour before the garbage truck comes, she will put her trash in the can.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Simon's gonna get me a job on the garbage truck.

  • She wants to drive a garbage truck.

  • The following morning, a garbage truck would be specially dispatched to pick up the refuse.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Follow that garbage truck!

Synonyms

dustcart
vsgarbage truck
  • UK
5.7

A large truck that collects household rubbish

is the common nonregional term used elsewhere for the same vehicle
haul-away
vsgarbage truck
  • US
4.1

A truck that takes away waste and unwanted items

is specifically for collecting household waste and taking it to a disposal site

How Big

garbage truck
  • US
23 1.8
boxcar
  • US
22 6.5
haul-away
  • US
4.1
van
676 1.0
pickup truck
  • US
76 2.5

Surface Forms

garbage truck singular
garbage-truck singular

Morphology

garbage + truck

The meaning 'a large vehicle that collects household waste' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'garbage' (waste) with 'truck' (large vehicle). This is a straightforward noun compound following regular English composition patterns and is cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.

Etymology

Garbage truck is a simple image: a big truck that stops at houses to pick up and carry away garbage to the dump. So it means 'a large vehicle that collects household waste'.