Jump To:

• Waste not, want not
  Waste not, want not

  If we don't waste what we have, we'll still have it in the future and will not lack (want) it.
• waste not, want not
  waste not, want not

  Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty. For example, I just hate to throw out good food—waste not, want not. This proverbial saying was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576).

Waste not, want not

Cultural  

1. If we don't waste what we have, we'll still have it in the future and will not lack (want) it.

---

waste not, want not Idioms  

1. Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty. For example, I just hate to throw out good food—waste not, want not. This proverbial saying was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576).

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Waste not, want not waste not, want not

Waste not, want not: California’s wet winter has dumped an estimated 18 trillion gallons of rain in February alone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2019

Waste not, want not, and only buy the cheap stuff.

From The Verge ● May 25, 2016

She spied the wasted food, stopped and delivered a stern dose of family doctrine: "Waste not, want not."

From Time Magazine Archive

What is the origin of such familiar advice as "Waste not, want not"?

From Time Magazine Archive

The Nurse used to say, "Many a poor child would thank GOD for what you waste every meal-time, Miss Amelia," and to quote a certain good old saying, "Waste not, want not."

From The Brownies and Other Tales by Ewing, Juliana Horatia Gatty

The inspiration for the name comes from the Japanese term mottainai, which laments waste - think of the phrase "waste not, want not" and you have the sentiment.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

The result is a relatively respectable chicken quesadilla that not only sates you in the moment, but satisfies a core value of "waste not, want not."

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2021

When it comes to information, waste not, want not.

From Time Magazine Archive

Murphy took a "waste not, want not" approach from the start.

From Time Magazine Archive

The country has made "waste not, want not" a national policy.

From Time Magazine Archive