wastepaper basket
3
1.6
- noun
- /ˈweɪstˌpeɪpər ˈbæskɪt/
:
papelera
- I was to dust the big desk, empty the wastepaper basket—this required him to slide the chair away.
- throwing into the wastepaper basket
- empty the wastepaper basket on the desk
Examples
-
She picks up the wastepaper basket next to Larry's dresser and holds it out in front of Chase.
Fiction book (1992) -
She angrily tears the paper off the easel, smashes it into a ball, and chucks it in the wastepaper basket.
Fiction book (1999) -
You got a wastepaper basket someplace?
-
Lee lifts his wastepaper basket, revealing strips of paper.
Fiction book (1999) -
Billy took several crumbled sheets of yellow paper out of his pocket and threw them in the wastepaper basket.
Fiction book (1997) -
This set integrates soap dishes, toothbrush holders, wastepaper baskets, tissue boxes, and many items that are handy and luxurious.
Blog text (27) -
Just as Motoda began thinking, "Ah, that's nice," Yoshiko, rummaging through the wastepaper basket by Motoda's writing table, examined every scrap of paper.
Fiction book (1992) -
I put the old documents into the wastepaper basket to clear my desk.
-
She noticed some important papers were discarded in the wastepaper basket.
-
After finishing his work, he discarded the crumpled pages into the wastepaper basket.
Synonyms
288
1.0
A container made by weaving thin pieces of material with handles for carrying things
214
1.0
A container where people put waste to be taken away
72
1.0
A container for holding rubbish until it is collected
60
1.0
A bin with a lid that holds household waste until someone takes it away
15
1.0
A container with an open top for holding paper and small bits of rubbish
4
1.0
A container for holding rubbish until it is taken away
2
1.3
A container with an open top for small trash like paper
A small open container for throwing away paper and other small rubbish
A bin in public places where people put trash
A bin for rubbish kept until it is collected
A joke name for a wastebasket where unwanted papers go
Antonyms
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'wastepaper' (discarded paper) and 'basket' (a receptacle) in a straightforward, compositional way, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is a basket for discarded paper. This noun–noun formation follows common cross-linguistic patterns and involves no idiomatic shift or metaphor, making it immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
Wastepaper basket comes from a simple image: people kept a small open basket for paper waste and scraps by their desk so they could throw things away quickly. That's why it means 'a container for paper rubbish' today.