dumpster

American  

[duhmp-ster] / ˈdʌmp stər /

Or Dumpster

noun

1. a large metal or plastic bin for refuse designed to be hoisted onto a specially equipped truck for emptying or hauling away.

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Etymology

Origin of dumpster

First recorded in 1935–40; dump ( def. ) + -ster ( def. ), originally part of the jingle “Dempster Dumpster, ” a trademark for a large trash container manufactured by the Dempster Brothers Company in Knoxville, Tennessee

Example Sentences

“It was a brush fire, and we were trying to keep it from becoming a dumpster fire,” he said.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

The facility, its fortunes dependent on people moving in but never moving out, didn’t provide a dumpster.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

And so-called artificial intelligence, of course, is adding napalm to this dumpster fire.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026

Regardless, to put it in nonpapal terms, it may be a dumpster — but we’re all in it together.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2025

I take a breath and realize that hiding in the dumpster would have been a better way to spend the day.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty