garbo

1 9.5

A person who collects rubbish from outside people's houses

noun

Australian

: basurero

My neighbor works as a garbo and knows all the best recycling tips.

Examples

The garbo collected our rubbish every Tuesday morning.
Tell the one about garbo's pants again.

Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012)
The garbo waved at me as he picked up the trash bins from the curb.

Synonyms

garbage man

vsgarbo

19 1.7

A person who collects trash from homes and takes it away

is informal and non-gendered compared with a male-specific label

garbageman

vsgarbo

6 3.0

A person who collects trash from homes or shops

is an informal general term rather than a neutral job title

garbage collector

vsgarbo

4 2.1

A person who collects and removes trash from homes and businesses

is the same role but expressed in informal, everyday language

trashman

vsgarbo

1 3.3

A person who collects trash and looks for things to use again or sell

focuses on collection only, not searching for items to reuse

garbage woman

vsgarbo

1 2.8

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

is informal and non-gendered rather than a female-specific term

dustman

vsgarbo

1 6.1

A person who collects and takes away household rubbish

is informal and not gender-specific compared with a male-specific name

refuse collector

vsgarbo

1 3.1

A person who collects and takes away rubbish from homes and businesses

uses informal everyday speech rather than a professional, neutral term

binman

vsgarbo

1 4.9

A person who collects rubbish from bins outside homes

is an informal synonym covering the same local household task

garbage hauler

vsgarbo

1 3.0

A person or company that collects and takes away trash

is informal and personal, not a broader company or service term

garbagewoman

vsgarbo

6.0

A woman who collects trash from homes and shops

is the informal neutral form rather than a gendered occupational name

dustwoman

vsgarbo

9.1

A woman who collects and takes away household rubbish

is informal and neutral rather than a female-specific occupational label

picker-up

vsgarbo

Archaic

7.4

A person who collects litter from places like beaches or parks

is specifically informal for household refuse collectors rather than general gatherers

garbage carter

vsgarbo

4.9

A person who collects and takes away rubbish from homes

is informal modern speech rather than an older occupational term

Surface Forms

garbo singular

garbos plural

Morphology

garbo = garbage (semi-transparent) = garbage + o

Formed by clipping of 'garbage' plus the informal suffix '-o' meaning a person; the slang/dialectal suffix and clipped form make the relation only partially predictable for learners.

Etymology

Garbo is a friendly short form of garbage plus the informal ending -o, a nickname style common in Australian English. So a garbo is literally someone who works with 'garbage', that is, a rubbish collector.