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 city of West Sacramento is considering a new company for garbage collection services when its current contract ends next year. — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 13 Aug. 2026

To that end, take the garbage out more frequently and clean your trash can. — Emma Jacobson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 Aug. 2026

Marcy had her hair tied up with a bow made from nylon cord and was bent over a fold-up kitchen counter rearranging wet garbage. — Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026

Polls show Farage is still likely to win, but that Count Binface — a spoof candidate who wears a garbage pail on his head — may get around 20-percent of the vote. — Lauren Frayer, NPR, 11 Aug. 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