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garbage scow

garbage scow

2 7.4
A flat boat that carries trash from harbors or rivers
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɑːrbɪdʒ skaʊ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : barcaza de basura
  • Ferryboats, barges, and garbage scows sliced through the water as muscled tugboats approached to guide the troopship toward her berth in the East River.

Examples

  • At last, before we were asphyxiated by rotting horseflesh, a garbage scow came to our rescue.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Our only hope now, is to outrun that Imperial garbage scow, tho'.

  • I'm the new science officer on this garbage scow and you are in my seat!

  • They called the Enterprise a garbage scow.

  • That sagging, old rust bucket is designed like a garbage scow.

  • In addition, vessel traffic, which included container ships, garbage scows, dredges, and barges laden with sludge, acid waste, and petroleum products, became heavy (Bennett, 1984).

    Academic text (1990)
  • The city hired a new garbage scow to remove waste from the harbor.

  • After the festival, a garbage scow collected all the leftover refuse from the docks.

  • Residents watched as the garbage scow navigated through the river, headed for the landfill.

Synonyms

garbage truck
vsgarbage scow
  • US
23 1.8

A large truck that collects and carries household waste

is used to move waste by water in harbors and rivers
scow
vsgarbage scow
  • Specialized
6 8.6

A flat boat with sloping ends that carries goods in shallow water

is used specifically to carry waste in harbors and rivers
haul-away
vsgarbage scow
  • US
4.1

A truck that takes away waste and unwanted items

is used to transport waste by boat rather than by road

Surface Forms

garbage scow singular
garbage scows plural
garbage-scows plural
garbage-scow singular

Morphology

garbage + scow

The meaning 'a barge used to carry waste' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'garbage' (waste/refuse) with 'scow' (a type of barge). This regular noun–noun compounding follows straightforward compositional logic and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

The noun garbage scow comes from a simple picture: a low, wide boat called a scow piled high with garbage. So it means 'a boat used to carry trash', and people used the name for the barges that take waste away from harbors and rivers.