garbage can
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of garbage can
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Next to an upside-down garbage can improbably sprouting legs and a head and tinnily broadcasting “God Bless America” is a figure group modeled on the famous image of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
"They don't see us as a town. To them we're just another garbage can," she said.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
In her clip, the bear and the coyote are seemingly enjoying the spoils of a spilled garbage can, surveying the neighborhood while they weigh their next move.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2025
People snow skiing down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, garbage can lids and plastic baby pools used as makeshift sleds, snowmen on the beach; it was something out of this world.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2025
I pulled out the garbage can from under the sink and started pitching—lettuce, both rusted and soggy; fourteen-day-old moo shu pork that looked deceptively edible; and peaches with skin like a mummy’s.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
