rubbish
Americannoun
-
worthless, unwanted material that is rejected or thrown out; debris; litter; trash.
-
nonsense, as in writing or art.
sentimental rubbish.
- Synonyms:
- bosh, drivel, balderdash, rot
noun
-
worthless, useless, or unwanted matter
-
discarded or waste matter; refuse
-
foolish words or speech; nonsense
verb
Usage
What is rubbish? Rubbish is unwanted material, such as something you throw into a waste barrel, like a banana peel. Rubbish is also something that is considered nonsense and not worth anything, like an idea or a piece of art. In Australia and New Zealand, rubbish can mean to criticize or verbally attack. It’s often used informally. Example: Make sure you clean up all this rubbish before you leave tonight.
Etymology
Origin of rubbish
1350–1400; Middle English rubbes, rob ( b ) ous < ?; cf. rubble
Explanation
Rubbish is a synonym for garbage or trash. The word is more commonly used by speakers of British English than by speakers of American English. The noun rubbish also means writing or speech that is worthless, untrue, or nonsense, especially in British English. Your teacher might tell you that your paper thesis is a load of rubbish if it states that Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt were aliens sent from another planet to "fix" World War II. In British slang, rubbish is also a verb that means to criticize strongly. Don't be surprised when the professor rubbishes your paper — he's a well-known Churchill scholar.
Vocabulary lists containing rubbish
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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50 Great Words from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
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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.
"I'd rather buy my own gift for someone I care about. I hate having to be forced to contribute to a joint collection out of some rubbish sense of obligation," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
A giant guitar sculpture dominates the central square, guitar murals adorn walls and pavements and even the rubbish bins are shaped like guitars.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Thirty people died in Guinea's capital Conakry on Sunday when a mound of rubbish in a landfill collapsed before dawn onto neighbouring homes following heavy rains, the government said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
Count Binface, the self-styled intergalactic space warrior, has again taken centre stage in UK politics, wearing a giant silver rubbish bin on his head.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
It lay at the outskirts of the town, on low ground, like a rubbish dump, and as I walked up and down the gravel paths, I could smell the stagnant salt marshes in the distance.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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.
