garbage

noun

gar·​bage ˈgär-bij 

1

a

: food waste

b

: discarded or useless material

2

a

: trash sense 1b

b

: inaccurate or useless data

Synonyms of garbage

• trash
• debris
• rubbish
• junk
• dust
• litter
• sewage
• truck

Examples of garbage in a Sentence

The park was littered with garbage.

Please take out the garbage.

Raccoons were going through the garbage.

Throw the can in the garbage.

If you ask me, what he said is a bunch of garbage.

Recent Examples on the Web

The lid at the exterior garbage dumpster was open at the time of inspection. — Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado july 3, Sacbee.com, 3 July 2026

Paula quickly gets rid of the gun, tossing it in the garbage of the police station bathroom, but pockets the flash drive. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 1 July 2026

Huntersville residents will see garbage collection proceed as normal. — Eva Flowe june 30, Charlotte Observer, 30 June 2026

Decomposing food can release hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas synonymous with landfills and garbage. — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "poultry organs and body parts used for food, poultry refuse," borrowed from Anglo-French *garbage (implied in sergant garbagere "kitchen servant tasked with plucking and cleaning poultry"), of obscure origin

Note: On morphological, semantic, or chronological grounds unlikely to be related to Anglo-French garbeler, Middle English garbelen "to remove (impurities) from spices" (see garble entry 1) or to Middle French gaburge, grabuge "quarrel, brawl." The Anglo-French collocation sergant garbagere indicates currency of the word as early as 1318 (Household Ordinances of Edward II).

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing garbage

• a lot of garbage/nonsense
• garbage can
• garbage disposal
• garbage time
• garbage truck

Kids Definition

garbage

noun

gar·​bage ˈgär-bij 

1

: food waste

2

: discarded or useless material : refuse

3

: something inferior, worthless, or useless

a show that's garbage