dumpster fire

noun

variants or less commonly Dumpster fire

US, informal

: an utterly calamitous or mismanaged situation or occurrence : disaster

Reese and McAdoo take the fall for what has been a dumpster fire of a season, one which has them at 2-10 on the season, and in line for one of the top two picks in the 2018 NFL Draft.

—James Kratch

So while 2017 has been, by many measures, a complete dumpster fire of a year, New Yorkers can at the very least take refuge in the fact that their city is becoming an even safer place to live.

—Clayton Guse

Examples of dumpster fire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Mavericks have been a dumpster fire, sitting at 4-12 are among the bottom in many statistical categories, including points per game (27th), three-point percentage (29th), opponents' points in the paint (26th), and opponents' total rebounds per game (30th). —Ricardo Sandoval, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025

Dumpster fire was relatively new and the WOTY early-warning system worked; Merriam-Webster added it just 14 months later. —Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2025

Both teams are dumpster fires at the moment. —Jeff Howe, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025

This is either going to be a stroke of genius from Posey or a dumpster fire so spectacular that the flames will be visible from Reno. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2006, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dumpster fire

• acquire
• attire
• bonfire
• campfire
• ceasefire
• conspire
• desire
• enquire
• entire
• greenbrier
• gunfire
• homebuyer