trash
Americannoun
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trash
plural
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anything worthless, useless, or discarded; rubbish.
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foolish or pointless ideas, talk, or writing; nonsense.
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a worthless or disreputable person.
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such persons collectively.
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literary or artistic material of poor or inferior quality.
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broken or torn bits, as twigs, splinters, rags, or the like.
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something that is broken or lopped off from anything in preparing it for use.
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the refuse of sugarcane after the juice has been expressed.
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Computers. an icon of a trash can that is used to delete files dragged onto it.
verb (used with object)
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trashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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trashed,
past participle, past
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trashing
present participle
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Slang. to destroy, damage, or vandalize, as in anger or protest.
The slovenly renters had trashed the house.
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to condemn, dismiss, or criticize as worthless.
The article trashed several recent best-sellers.
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to remove the outer leaves of (a growing sugarcane plant).
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to free from superfluous twigs or branches.
noun
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foolish ideas or talk; nonsense
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useless or unwanted matter or objects
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a literary or artistic production of poor quality
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a poor or worthless person or a group of such people
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bits that are broken or lopped off, esp the trimmings from trees or plants
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the dry remains of sugar cane after the juice has been extracted
verb
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to remove the outer leaves and branches from (growing plants, esp sugar cane)
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slang to attack or destroy (someone or something) wilfully or maliciously
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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trashsimple
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trashessimple
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have trashedperfect
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has trashedperfect
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am trashingprogressive
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are trashingprogressive
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is trashingprogressive
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have been trashingperfect progressive
-
has been trashingperfect progressive
Past
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trashedsimple
-
had trashedperfect
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was trashingprogressive
-
were trashingprogressive
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had been trashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trash
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English trasches (plural), apparently cognate with Norwegian trask “rubbish”; akin to Old English trus “brushwood,” Old Norse tros “rubbish”
Explanation
Trash is rubbish or garbage — it's the stuff that gets thrown away. Your town might organize a clean-up day each year when people pick up trash in parks and neighborhoods. Trash is dirty, worthless, leftover debris. Fittingly, the word is also a terribly derogatory term for useless, low-status people: "I should've known you were nothing but trash." And to trash talk is to brutally criticize or gossip about someone. You can even use trash as a verb, to mean "throw away," as in, "I'm going to trash this trash in that trash can over there."
Vocabulary lists containing trash
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.
See Examples For:
But the Sanitation Department wants to modernize New York’s outdated trash system—can it?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Sanitation crews cleared the streets and sidewalks of trash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
The first time he decided to trash one of the cameras, a self-styled vigilante wearing all black and known as Nomark says he was "super nervous."
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
Outside, he said, trash had not been picked up.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
Furniture from their own house crowded them, joined by a lawn chair, a small metal table, and a plastic bag full of trash swept in from outside.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Only firms in desperate need of cash sell more shares when their valuations are low, because it dilutes existing shareholders and trashes the share price.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
An attorney who trashes the rule of law must know that eventually she will be barred from practicing it.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2025
Spawned when the body trashes old red blood cells, the molecule is harmful refuse and a sign of illness.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 8, 2023
But the new ad campaign is facing significant backlash — with critics calling it a “new Barbie” that trashes Italy’s cultural heritage.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2023
Because it robs everything from another place the city causes trouble for others, and trashes the Earth is the process.
From Down with the Cities by Tadashi Nakashima
The worst ones seem to happen during bear markets, when the winning stocks of the preceding boom get trashed.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Simplicity is elevated, subtlety is trashed, and complexity decried.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
Some acquired original artworks, often for free, from editors who might have otherwise trashed them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Deputies discovered the trashed mail near Elder Creek and Mayhew Roads in Sacramento County while conducting a cleanup of a reported homeless encampment, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025
The establishment was pretty trashed, and there were forty humans out for the count.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Has he not read Dr. Prasad’s academic papers trashing drugs whose trials don’t meet his trial standards?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
But taking a stand against his UK party leader still risks trashing a brand under which they both campaign.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
Next week's global conference on tobacco control will consider what to do about the sheer volume of cigarette butts trashing the planet, with some recommending banning them completely.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025
She also accused the Canadian and his family of trashing the home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
He told us he almost felt sorry for the software salesmen when he handed them the bill, which didn’t even include the hefty fine from the park service for trashing the sea grass.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
