waste

¹waste

noun \ˈwāst\

Definition of WASTE

1

a : a sparsely settled or barren region : desert

b : uncultivated land

c : a broad and empty expanse (as of water)

2

: the act or an instance of wasting : the state of being wasted

3

a : loss through breaking down of bodily tissue

b : gradual loss or decrease by use, wear, or decay

4

a : damaged, defective, or superfluous material produced by a manufacturing process: as (1) : material rejected during a textile manufacturing process and used usually for wiping away dirt and oil <cotton waste> (2) : scrap (3) : an unwanted by-product of a manufacturing process, chemical laboratory, or nuclear reactor <toxic waste> <hazardous waste> <nuclear waste>

b : refuse from places of human or animal habitation: as (1) : garbage, rubbish (2) : excrement —often used in plural (3) : sewage

c : material derived by mechanical and chemical weathering of the land and moved down sloping surfaces or carried by streams to the sea

Examples of WASTE

1. The current system causes a lot of waste.
2. We need to find ways to reduce unnecessary waste.
3. These old computers are still useful. It seems like such a waste to throw them away.
4. Any further investment would be a waste of valuable resources.
5. The city oversees waste disposal contracts.

Origin of WASTE

Middle English waste, wast; in sense 1, from Anglo-French wast, from wast, gast, guast, adjective, desolate, waste, from Latin vastus; in other senses, from Middle English wasten to waste — more at vast

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to WASTE

Synonyms

extravagance, prodigality

Antonyms

buildup

Related Words

indulgence, luxury, splurge; loss, wastage; dissipation, profligacy, profusion, squandering, wastefulness; overindulgence, self-indulgence; excess, immoderacy, overkill

Near Antonyms

necessity; belt-tightening, conservation, economizing, economy, frugality, parsimony, penny-pinching, saving, scrimping, skimping, thrift; austerity, moderation, restraint, temperance, temperateness

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

Rhymes with WASTE

based, baste, chaste, haste, laced, paste, taste, waist

²waste

verb

wast·edwast·ing

Definition of WASTE

transitive verb

1

: to lay waste; especially : to damage or destroy gradually and progressively <reclaiming land wasted by strip-mining>

2

: to cause to shrink in physical bulk or strength : emaciate, enfeeble <a body wasted by disease>

3

: to wear away or diminish gradually : consume

4

a : to spend or use carelessly : squander <waste valuable resources>

b : to allow to be used inefficiently or become dissipated <a writer wasting her talent>

5

: kill; also : to injure severely

intransitive verb

1

: to lose weight, strength, or vitality —often used with away <was wasting away from illness>

2

a : to become diminished in bulk or substance

b : to become consumed

3

: to spend money or consume property extravagantly or improvidently

— waste one's breath

: to accomplish nothing by speaking

Examples of WASTE

1. Don't waste water during the summer drought.
2. He always wasted his money on useless gadgets.
3. Turn off the lights so we don't waste electricity.
4. I think he's just wasting my time.
5. We can't afford to waste so much food.
6. We can't afford to waste this opportunity.

Origin of WASTE

Middle English, from Anglo-French waster, gaster, from Latin vastare, from vastus desolate, waste

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to WASTE

Synonyms

blow, dissipate, fiddle away, fritter (away), lavish, lose, misspend, run through, spend, squander, throw away, trifle (away), play ducks and drakes with (or make ducks and drakes of)

Antonyms

conserve

Related Words

splurge; consume, deplete, exhaust, impoverish, overspend, shoot; indulge, overindulge; disburse, expend, lay out

Near Antonyms

economize, scrimp, skimp; preserve, protect, save; hoard, lay up

See Synonym Discussion at ravage

³waste

adjective

Definition of WASTE

1

a (1) : being wild and uninhabited : desolate (2) : arid, empty

b : not cultivated : not productive

2

: being in a ruined or devastated condition

3

[¹waste]

a : discarded as worthless, defective, or of no use : refuse <waste material>

b : excreted from or stored in inert form in a living body as a byproduct of vital activity <waste products>

4

[¹waste] : serving to conduct or hold refuse material <a waste barrel>; specifically : carrying off superfluous water <a waste drain>

5

: wasted 4

Examples of WASTE

1. <waste acreage that was not fit for anything>

Origin of WASTE

Middle English waste, wast, from Anglo-French wast

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to WASTE

Synonyms

bony (also boney), dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, stark, unfertile, unproductive, barren

Antonyms

fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich

Related Words

bleak, inhospitable, lifeless; uncultivable, untillable; bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up; arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere (also sear), thirsty, waterless; baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked

Near Antonyms

arable, tillable; green, sylvan, verdant

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra