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.
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 By contrast, the ICE facility was a mess of overflowing dumpsters, loose body armor and crowd control munitions and a broken HVAC air conditioning system that raised both temperatures and tempers in the aging building. Keith Wilson, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025 The playground’s official page on the Royal Parks website refers to restrooms for children and a baby changing station, but makes no mention of a dumpster. Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025 The only example on our list where the design of the base car was poor, Mansory still manages to make this rolling steel dumpster look worse. Sean Evans, Robb Report, 14 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dumpster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumpster. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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