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

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

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

In cities, they are often seen soaring above garbage dumps, marketplaces and riverbanks, scavenging for scraps and small prey. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025

Jorge was seen dropping off a black garbage bag near the building’s boiler room after the victim was discovered, neighbors said. —Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 27 July 2025

Nashville police have arrested a suspect in connection with the July 19 homicide of a woman covered by a garbage bag on the side of a road in South Nashville. —Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 24 July 2025

The sheath was crucial because the DNA was found to be a statistical match to what was found on a cotton swab collected from garbage left outside Kohberger's parents' home. —Nbc News, NBC news, 24 July 2025

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