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.
Thorne finished in second, with the blueberry coming in third and the dumpster-diving contestant, Mike, winning the grand prize. Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025 The argument continued in the distance, not far from a dumpster brimming with refuse that spilled onto the ground around it. Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025 The object – which resembles an antique dumpster – was found by accident, nearly 90 feet down in the Tennessee River, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority. Mark Price, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2025 Property owners have been trying to get discounts with tactics like switching from individual cans to dumpsters, making changes to their organic recycling or teaming with nearby properties to lure haulers with better economies of scale. David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 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 5 Nov. 2025.

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