plural bins
1
: a box, frame, crib, or enclosed place used for storage
2
chiefly British
: a can for trash or garbage : dustbin
The woman retreated to a desk, dropping the leaflets in the bin as though she couldn't bear to hold them anymore.—
Denise Mina
Denise Mina
linguistics
: the verb form been used with spoken emphasis in African American English to indicate that something (such as an event or state) happened or existed in the remote past or that it began in the remote past and is still ongoing : stressed bin
BIN, which is stressed, situates an eventuality or some part of it in the remote past. It has been shown that developing AAL-speaking children also produce BIN in spontaneous speech and interpret it as a marker that refers to the distant past.—Lisa Green and Tracy Conner
Lisa Green and Tracy ConnerNote: BIN frequently precedes perfect (see perfect entry 1 sense 5) verb forms, as well as progressive (see progressive entry 1 sense 7) verb forms ending in -ing. It can also precede the African American English feature perfective done, additional predicates (such as nouns, adjectives, and prepositional phrases), and, in certain contexts, adverbial phrases.
: bi- entry 1
binaural
Examples of bin in a Sentence
Noun (1)
Put the old newspapers in the recycling bin.
a storage bin for hats and gloves
Recent Examples on the Web
Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2025
Move them to covered recycling bins and discard them regularly.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
Damon Wise, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Holly Shand has binned Chelsea’s new striker Joao Pedro one game into the season.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 20 Aug. 2025
Always ask before touching bins or any other property that belongs to your neighbors.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bin
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Noun
Other citations included containers stored as clean with food residue, large bins of dry ingredients not labeled and rust buildup on shelves of walk-in cooler.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2025
Move them to covered recycling bins and discard them regularly.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
In the book, Camus explains all this through an engaging first-person narrative, but Ozon bins all that in favor of showing not telling.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Holly Shand has binned Chelsea’s new striker Joao Pedro one game into the season.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
Officers found tote bins in the burn pile, and collected them as evidence.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 20 Aug. 2025
Always ask before touching bins or any other property that belongs to your neighbors.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bin
Cite this Entry
“Bin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bin. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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