trash can
1
2.9
- noun
- /træʃ kæn/
- Specialized
:
papelera
- And onward to the little trash can icon above the inbox.
- trash can icon
Examples
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And if it's no, that's any further communications - goes right into my trash can.
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To recover accidentally deleted documents, check the trash can on your computer where they are temporarily stored.
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Found this in the trash can.
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This will definitely help your announcement stand out, but it will also grease the path to the digital trash can.
Blog text (18) -
Wish Rachelle's comment setup had that little trash can icon, by the way.
Blog text (32) -
So Ellis said earlier that he had one terabyte of stuff in the trash can of his computer.
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I know she was in your car, and I know about your history with students... but humans leave traces, fibers from clothing, skin fragments, footprints, and there's no trace of you beyond the scribblings I found in the trash can.
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After deleting a file, remember to empty your trash can to permanently remove it from your system.
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Whenever I want to free up space, I look in the trash can to see if I can restore any important files.
Synonyms
A folder that holds deleted files so you can restore or permanently remove them
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning (a place where discarded items are kept) is directly built from 'trash' (rubbish) + 'can' (a container); the idea of a container holding rubbish maps transparently onto a location for deleted items. Although the computing sense is a metaphorical extension, this container-for-waste metaphor is widespread cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Trash can in computers uses the same picture as the real bin: when you delete a file on your computer it goes into a digital trash can like rubbish in a bin. Because you can restore files or empty the bin later, it means 'a place where deleted files are stored temporarily until they are permanently removed or restored'.