landfill

noun land·fill \ ˈlan(d)-ˌfil \

|Updated on: 5 Jun 2018

Definition of landfill

1 : an area built up by landfill

2 : a system of trash and garbage disposal in which the waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low-lying land — called also sanitary landfill

—

landfill

transitive verb

See landfill defined for English-language learners

See landfill defined for kids

Examples of landfill in a Sentence

using landfill to dispose of trash
Part of the city was built on landfill.

Recent Examples of landfill from the Web

Investigators scoured local landfills, finding the backpack, which was allegedly full of bloody clothing, duct tape, rubber and latex gloves, a knife, and a balaclava, the documents state.

— chris harris, PEOPLE.com, "Man Allegedly Killed Teen While She Was on Phone with Mom Because He Feared She'd Disclose Secret Relationship," 31 May 2018
For example, Billings said, an emergency call comes in as an Eighth District crew finishes fueling their apparatus at the fuel depot near the town landfill.

— jesse leavenworth, Courant Community, "Manchester Fire Departments Forge Closer Ties," 29 May 2018
In Leeds in northern England, chef Adam Smith is taking food destined for landfills to local schools to support low-income families and teach pupils about food waste.

— umberto bacchi, The Christian Science Monitor, "British chefs cook up food waste solutions," 22 May 2018
In 2017, Alaska doled out 22 million plastic stir straws and citrus picks—a staggering number, considering that plastic straws are too lightweight to be recyclable, and instead end up in landfills and waterways.

— katherine lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, "Alaska Airlines Ditches Plastic Straws on All Flights," 21 May 2018
There are very few landfill owners that don’t operate recycling facilities, too.

— bob tita, WSJ, "Recycling, Once Embraced by Businesses and Environmentalists, Now Under Siege," 13 May 2018
The textile recycling program aims to reduce the disposal of clothes, which would reduce the burden on landfills and the number of clothing that could otherwise go to a new home.

— austen erblat, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Greenacres OKs new wireless communication facility, textile recycling bins," 11 May 2018
Here, in the town that contains Rhode Island’s only landfill, Koeman founded Wicked Tulip Flower Farm with his wife, Keriann, 43, who is originally from Plymouth.

— cristela guerra, BostonGlobe.com, "Tens of thousands of tulips bloom in an unlikely corner of Rhode Island," 9 May 2018
Unable to break down naturally, these plastics simply remain in landfills and waterways for hundreds of years and end up polluting the environment.

— jason lemon, ajc, "Is this the solution to plastic crisis? 'Mutant' enzyme gives scientists hope," 27 Apr. 2018

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