garbage

noun

gar·bage | \ ˈgär-bij

Definition of garbage

1a : food waste

b : discarded or useless material

2a : trash sense 1b

b : inaccurate or useless data

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about garbage

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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

Cities the world over are having a garbage crisis, or more specifically, a recycling crisis. — Christopher Mims, WSJ, "Help, We’re Drowning in Recycling! Cue the ‘Internet of Trash’," 2 Mar. 2019 The Last Jedi went back to heroes who could come from anywhere and start as anything: a garbage-trader, a random soldier, even a slave-boy with a broom. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the franchise’s Attack of the Clones when it should be The Last Jedi," 27 Nov. 2018 Putting contacts on top of that is just going to feel like utter garbage. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Here’s Why Your Eyes Are Burning When You Put In Your Contacts," 10 Oct. 2018 Some local residents may have to pay a bit more for their garbage pick-up because of a Chinese ban on scrap and recylables that took effect in January. — Chuck Fieldman, chicagotribune.com, "Chinese ban may lead to recycling cost increase for some towns," 9 July 2018 So out went the yuletide beast to become an ever-so-brief Twitter celebrity and eventual souvenir for the ultra-completist Florida State fan who came along and swiped it before the garbage collector arrived. — Andy Staples, SI.com, "The Message Behind the Money: How Texas A&M Landed Jimbo Fisher," 28 June 2018 As director of Solid Waste Services, she’s seen the city’s garbage increase by 7 percent in the last two years. — Leah Asmelash, charlotteobserver, "Your tires could become shoes with this new project. Here's how.," 27 June 2018 BearWise rules generally require residents and businesses to keep garbage secure until the morning of pickup. — Stephen Hudak, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Apopka to consider bear ordinance, bear-resistant trash cans," 26 June 2018 For the rest of the city, leaf collection runs on regular garbage day and leaves must be bagged, although no stickers are required during the collection period. — Mike Danahey, Elgin Courier-News, "Elgin finds turning over a new leaf (collection) isn't easy," 9 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'garbage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for garbage

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).

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