wastebasket

noun

waste·​bas·​ket ˈwās(t)-ˌba-skət How to pronounce wastebasket (audio)
: a receptacle for refuse and especially for wastepaper

called also wastepaper basket

Examples of wastebasket in a Sentence

She tossed the wrapper into the wastebasket.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The list of items that authorities found when his house was raided in 1957 is pure nightmare fuel, including a wastebasket made of human skin, bowls made from skulls, a belt made of nipples, a lampshade created from a human face, and nine vulvas in a shoebox. Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2025 There was also a wastebasket, tom-tom, and the seats of four chairs all made out of human skin. Elizabeth Yuko, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025 To make a few dollars, Schuyler agreed to type Auden’s poems but was busted fishing his employer’s drafts out of the wastebasket. Dan Chiasson, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025 For added freshness, soak a cotton round in drops of your favorite essential oil before replacing the garbage bag in your wastebasket. Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 5 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for wastebasket

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wastebasket was in 1850

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wastebasket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wastebasket. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

wastebasket

noun
waste·​bas·​ket ˈwās(t)-ˌbas-kət How to pronounce wastebasket (audio)
: an open container for trash and especially wastepaper

More from Merriam-Webster on wastebasket

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!