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 Pick Up Pigeons, who have collected more than 16,000 pounds of garbage since its founding in 2023, have found diaries, boxes of onions and psychedelic mushroom chocolate. —Tim Craig The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 5 Apr. 2026

Her body was found wrapped in blankets and garbage bags in the bed of a second-story room. —Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026

Officers then found Metayer Bowen dead, wrapped in blankets and garbage bags in a second-floor bedroom, the outlets reported, citing an affidavit. —Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026

This is a big reason for the ongoing money grabs such as the garbage fees and Balboa Park parking fees. —U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 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