Definition of waste
- cotton waste
- toxic waste
- hazardous waste
- nuclear waste
The current system causes a lot of waste.
We need to find ways to reduce unnecessary waste.
These old computers are still useful. It seems like such a waste to throw them away.
Any further investment would be a waste of valuable resources.
The city oversees waste disposal contracts.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'waste.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Don't waste water during the summer drought.
He always wasted his money on useless gadgets.
Turn off the lights so we don't waste electricity.
I think he's just wasting my time.
We can't afford to waste so much food.
We can't afford to waste this opportunity.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'waste.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use: 13th century
in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
See Words from the same yearannihilate, cream, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, do in, extinguish, nuke, pull down, pulverize, raze, rub out, ruin, shatter, smash, tear down, total, vaporize, wrack, wreck;
doctor, fix, mend, patch, recondition, repair, revamp;
assemble, fabricate, fashion, forge, form, frame, make, manufacture, mold, produce, shape;
bring about, constitute, establish, father, found, institute, organize;
beat, best, clobber, conquer, crush, defeat, drub, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), rout, scotch, skunk, subdue, surmount, thrash, trim, triumph (over), trounce, wallop, whip, win (against);
blast, blow up, break, cripple, damage, deface, deteriorate, disfigure, disintegrate, dissolve, dynamite, harm, impair, injure, mangle, mar, mutilate, spoil, vitiate;
erode, scour, sweep (away), wash out, wear (away);
dilapidate, disassemble, dismantle, gut, take down, unbuild, undo, unmake;
blot out, efface, eradicate, expunge, exterminate, extirpate, liquidate, obliterate, remove, root (out), snuff (out), stamp (out), wipe out;
despoil, havoc, loot, pillage, plunder, ravage, sack, trample, trash, vandalize;
waste acreage that was not fit for anything
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'waste.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use: 14th century
in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
See Words from the same yearbarren, bony (also boney), dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, stark, unfertile, unproductive;
bleak, inhospitable, lifeless;
bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up;
arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere (also sear), thirsty, waterless;
: loss of something valuable that occurs because too much of it is being used or because it is being used in a way that is not necessary or effective
: an action or use that results in the unnecessary loss of something valuable
: a situation in which something valuable is not being used or is being used in a way that is not appropriate or effective
: to use (something valuable) in a way that is not necessary or effective : to use more of (something) than is necessary
: to use (something or someone) in a way that does not produce a valuable result or effect : to fail to use (something or someone) in an appropriate or effective way
: to kill or murder (someone)
: of, relating to, or being material that is left over or unwanted after something has been made, done, used, etc.
See words that rhyme with waste Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for waste Spanish Central: Translation of waste Nglish: Translation of waste for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of waste for Arabic speakers
What made you want to look up waste? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
April 2018 Words of the Day Quiz
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZTest Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ