garbage

gar·bage | \ ˈgär-bij

How to pronounce garbage (audio)

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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 Italy produced 10% less garbage during its coronavirus lockdown, but environmentalists warn that increased reliance on disposable masks and packaging is imperiling efforts to curb single-use plastics that end up in oceans and seas. — Paolo Santalucia And Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, "Italy garbage dips with virus lockdowns, but plastics rise," 16 Aug. 2020 Decline housekeeping services: Leave your garbage outside for pickup, and ask the front desk to leave towels and linens outside your door. — Washington Post, "How covid-19-related travel restrictions are complicating the once-simple road trip," 14 Aug. 2020 In other words, if a trash can is full, take your garbage with you and find one that’s not. — Alexei Koseff, SFChronicle.com, "Lake Tahoe locals bristling at influx of tourists escaping pandemic cabin fever," 14 Aug. 2020 Want to take a guess how many points Devin Booker scored in the second half in garbage time? — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, "Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker slammed by radio host for being 'all about the stats'," 14 Aug. 2020 But back then, entertainment memorabilia was still a small-time game, with studios only starting to think about their productions' physical assets as valuable brand-building artifacts rather than garbage fetishized by marginal eccentrics. — Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Memorabilia King vs. the Studio Detective: The Never-Before-Told Account of an Epic Battle Over Stolen Movie Props," 13 Aug. 2020 The bear had been returning to eat garbage in urban areas of San Pedro Garza García. — Fox News, "Bear that went viral after sniffing hiker’s hair has been castrated, sparking outrage," 12 Aug. 2020 The budget shows no increase in water rates, but there are small increases in stormwater and garbage rates. — Brayden Garcia, Dallas News, "Arlington cuts $13.5 million from proposed 2021 budget to combat COVID-19 revenue struggles," 12 Aug. 2020 Or respected you enough to not have any garbage or food scraps accessible in the first place. — Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE.com, "'Easygoing' Black Bear Tranquilized, Killed After Locals Admitted to Luring Animal for Photos," 11 Aug. 2020

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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Dictionary Entries near garbage

garbage disposal

Statistics for garbage

Last Updated

19 Aug 2020

Cite this Entry

“Garbage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garbage. Accessed 22 Aug. 2020.

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More Definitions for garbage

garbage

noun

English Language Learners Definition of garbage

: things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown out

: a container where people put things that are being thrown out

informal : something that is worthless, unimportant, or of poor quality

See the full definition for garbage in the English Language Learners Dictionary

garbage

gar·bage | \ ˈgär-bij

\

Kids Definition of garbage

1 : material (as waste food) that has been thrown out

2 : something that is worthless, useless, or untrue Don't watch garbage on television.

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