Etymology
Origin of ashcan
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.
“The idea that tossing the desires of Pearl’s family into the ashcan is ‘just what journalists do’ is only a cover for indiscriminate National Enquirer logic,” he said in a June 2002 column.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
The 1940s sundered the 20th century, dispatching an entire global framework and any number of abiding social orders to the ashcan of history.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 28, 2018
Even the ashcan colors and chiaroscuro lighting brighten.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2011
In Garrett's design, raw garbage straight from the ashcan would be chopped into gravel-sized pieces by an enormous shredder, then run through a dryer to remove moisture.
From Time Magazine Archive
Paul thought it time to beat a silent retreat in the direction of the ashcan he had selected as his cover.
From The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour, or, The Mystery of Rattlesnake Mountain by George A. Warren
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.
