bin

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈbin 

plural bins

1

: a box, frame, crib, or enclosed place used for storage

2

chiefly British : a can for trash or garbage : dustbin

The woman retreated to a desk, dropping the leaflets in the bin as though she couldn't bear to hold them anymore.

—Denise Mina

bin

2 of 4

verb

binned; binning

transitive verb

: to put into a bin

BIN

3 of 4

noun (2)

ˈbin 

linguistics

: the verb form been used with spoken emphasis in African American English to indicate that something (such as an event or state) happened or existed in the remote past or that it began in the remote past and is still ongoing : stressed bin

BIN, which is stressed, situates an eventuality or some part of it in the remote past. It has been shown that developing AAL-speaking children also produce BIN in spontaneous speech and interpret it as a marker that refers to the distant past.

—Lisa Green and Tracy Conner

Note: BIN frequently precedes perfect (see perfect entry 1 sense 5) verb forms, as well as progressive (see progressive entry 1 sense 6) verb forms ending in -ing. It can also precede the African American English feature perfective done, additional predicates (such as nouns, adjectives, and prepositional phrases), and, in certain contexts, adverbial phrases.

bin-

4 of 4

prefix

: bi- entry 1

binaural

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• box
• caddy
• case
• casket
• chest
• locker
• trunk

Examples of bin in a Sentence

Noun (1)

Put the old newspapers in the recycling bin.

a storage bin for hats and gloves

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Police said Gibert was also seen on video surveillance placing the pipe allegedly used to kill Dos Passos — which was later retrieved by law enforcement — in a trash bin. —Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2024

The investigation began more than 18 months ago, when ABC News and nine of its affiliated and owned stations secured 46 digital tracking devices to plastic bags and deployed them at Walmart and Target store drop-off recycling bins across 10 states. —Matt Gutman, ABC News, 23 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English binn, from Old English

Prefix

Middle English, from Late Latin, from Latin bini two by two; akin to Old English twinn twofold — more at twin

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1839, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1975, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bin

• bin liner
• litter bin
• loony bin
• rubbish bin
• waste bin
• wheelie bin

Kids Definition

bin

noun

ˈbin

: a box, frame, or enclosed place for storage