dumpster

noun

dump·​ster ˈdəm(p)-stər How to pronounce dumpster (audio)
variants or less commonly Dumpster
: a large trash receptacle

Examples of dumpster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Lilley said larger apartment towers and complexes almost certainly have an existing contract for trash pickup of big Dumpsters. Phillip Molnar, Oc Register, 7 July 2025 The other officer was pursuing someone else when Hinton emerged from between the dumpsters, Theetge said. Bebe Hodges, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 Officers turned around at the end of the alley and approached the dumpster from the other direction, and the K-9 once again indicated the same location. Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025 Eden first noticed a dumpster’s worth of AI cover art, and then people full-sending the grift with AI music. Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for dumpster

Word History

Etymology

dump entry 1 + -ster (originally in the trademarked name Dempster Dumpster, applied to mechanically loaded refuse containers produced by the Dempster Brothers Company of Knoxville, Tennessee)

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dumpster was in 1937

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dumpster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumpster. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.

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