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.
According to previous testimony, Brian Walshe was seen placing items into dumpsters during the time police were searching for Ana Walshe. Matt Schooley, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025 The footage captured a man who threw away a black trash bag in the complex’s dumpster. Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025 In recent years it's also become more common for retailers and grocery stores to lock up their dumpsters, blocking them from the public. Christopher Cann, USA Today, 5 Dec. 2025 In October, the NYPD and State Police searched an upstate landfill to look through garbage taken there from a dumpster outside Pritchett’s building. Rocco Parascandola, Mercury News, 5 Dec. 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 14 Dec. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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