junk heap
3
4.2
- noun
- /dʒʌŋk hiːp/
:
montón de basura
- During the clean-up, we discovered a hidden treasure in the junk heap of discarded items.
Where where are the junk heaps out in the ocean that aren't made by humans?
- Where where are the junk heaps out in the ocean that aren't made by humans?
Examples
-
After the storm, the streets were cluttered with a junk heap of fallen branches and debris.
-
I robbed that bank 'cause I got tired of seein'... children roamin' the woodlands without food-- children roamin' the highways in this era of depression-- children sleepin' in old abandoned car bodies and junk heaps.
-
The old junk heap I keep for spare parts?
-
And yet, when it's up and running, the junk heap springs to life.
Academic text (2011) -
You got about as much chance of gettin' that junk heap back...
-
The washing machine in the basement would be carted away to the junk heap.
Fiction book (2001) -
The old junk heap in the backyard was filled with broken furniture and appliances.
Synonyms
426
1.9
A heap of things put together
214
1.1
A place where people leave large amounts of rubbish
54
3.5
A place where old cars and metal are kept to sell for parts or recycling
53
1.1
A pile of things put on top of each other in no order
22
1.0
Things people throw away because they are not wanted
9
1.0
A place where people take and leave large amounts of waste
7
4.0
A place where people throw away unwanted things, often illegally
3
2.4
A pile of garbage and old things people throw away
3
4.5
A piece of land where people throw away trash without control
2
2.7
A messy heap of old things that people throw away
1
1.3
A heap of thrown away things like paper and bottles
1
2.3
A large pile of things that people have thrown away
1
2.1
A place where people put waste to be taken away
1
2.7
A pile of waste and old things
1
5.4
A pile of old broken metal and other things kept to be thrown away
1
9.9
A very dirty, messy pile of trash and broken things
1
2.0
A large open area where people leave trash
A pile of rubbish left outside in one place
A pile of dust and old rubbish thrown away
Antonyms
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an untidy accumulation of discarded or worthless objects' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'junk' (discarded or worthless objects) with 'heap' (a messy pile). This straightforward noun+noun composition follows common compounding patterns found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
The phrase junk heap comes from a clear image: junk means old, broken things and a heap is a big pile, like a yard full of thrown-away furniture. That's why today 'junk heap' means 'a pile of old, useless things'.