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.
On Saturday, about 50 residents and organizers convened a cleanup and dumpster day for the streets surrounding the former MACSA building, gathering litter and trash and piling it up for disposal. Kyle Martin, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025 The outlet reported that the landfill is where New York City garbage is taken and that there is reportedly a dumpster behind the apartment in Brooklyn. Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025 Deputies responded to the scene and found a black and purple 9mm handgun inside a large dumpster near the school parking lot. David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Oct. 2025 Police officers, accompanied by ACS workers, executed a search warrant at the Howard Avenue apartment but found no trace of Jacob in the residence, yard, or dumpsters. Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 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

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Cite this Entry

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

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