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• bin
  bin

  noun

  a box or enclosed place for storing grain, coal, or the like.
• bin-
  bin-

  a combining form meaning “two,” “two at a time,” used in the formation of compound words.

bin

¹ American  

[bin] / bɪn /

noun

• bins
  plural

1. a box or enclosed place for storing grain, coal, or the like.

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verb (used with object)

• bins,
  present (3rd person singular)
• binned,
  past participle,  past
• binning
  present participle

1. to store in a bin.

bin- ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “two,” “two at a time,” used in the formation of compound words.

   binary; binocular.

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bin ¹ British  

/ bɪn /

noun

1. a large container or enclosed space for storing something in bulk, such as coal, grain, or wool

2. Also called: bread bin. a small container for bread

3. Also called: dustbin, rubbish bin. a container for litter, rubbish, etc

4. 1. a storage place for bottled wine

   2. one particular bottling of wine

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verb

1. (tr) to store in a bin

2. (tr) to put in a wastepaper bin

bin- ² British  

prefix

1. a variant, esp before a vowel, of bi- 1

   binocular

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Usage

What does bin- mean? Bin- is a combining form used like a prefix, and it means “two” or “two at a time.” While it appears in a variety of scientific terms, it’s also easily recognizable in everyday terms. Bin- comes from the Latin bīnī, meaning “two each” or “by twos.”Bin- is related to the combining form bi- and is used with some words or word elements beginning with vowels. These two forms have similar origins, and for that reason, the difference between the two is a small yet important nuance: bin- tends to mean “double,” while bi- often means “twice.” Want to know more? Read our Words That Use bi- article.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbinned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bins
  plural

Participles

• binning
  present
• binned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bin
  simple
• bins
  simple
• have binned
  perfect
• has binned
  perfect
• am binning
  progressive
• are binning
  progressive
• is binning
  progressive
• have been binning
  perfect progressive
• has been binning
  perfect progressive

Past

• binned
  simple
• had binned
  perfect
• was binning
  progressive
• were binning
  progressive
• had been binning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bin
  simple
• will have binned
  perfect
• will be binning
  progressive
• will have been binning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bin¹

before 950; Middle English binne, Old English binn ( e ) crib, perhaps < Celtic; compare Welsh benn cart

Origin of bin-²

Combining form of Latin bīnī two each, by twos

Explanation

A bin is a box or other lidded container. You might store onions and potatoes in a vegetable bin in your kitchen. The noun bin is especially good for describing a specific kind of container, like a toy bin at a preschool or a compost bin on the counter. Bin is more commonly used in Britain than in the United States — a Londoner might say, "Oh, just throw that in the bin," while a New Yorker is more likely to say, "Throw it in the trash," or "Toss it in the garbage." The root word is the Old English binne, "basket."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bin bins binned binning

But Bahrain were keen to hold their race and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa negotiated to hold the race in Malaysia.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he had spoken with his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and agreed "to collaborate against extremist elements seeking to harm security and undermine stability".

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

The group says that over the last year alone they have rescued 272 tonnes of food from the bin – enough for over 649,000 meals.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Narayan took charge of DP World in mid-February after Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem’s abrupt resignation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

I dropped the paper in the rubbish bin on my way down the street.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Now they've taken the next step and moved in together, will they be arguing over who takes the bins out?

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Another group, led by Myers, harvested corn and threw it to teammates holding bins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

There was a store behind my first office building that got all of the clothes they couldn’t sell from Barneys, and I would find bins of Margiela for $15.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

"Getting rid of chewing gum, getting rid of grotty looking bins, getting rid of graffiti, the things that are unsightly that none of us want to see," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

First they stopped by the alley where Papa kept the gray trash cans and blue recycling bins.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Then there are the items that simply have to be binned.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

However, Quins had fly-half Smith binned in the second half and La Rochelle took advantage to draw level through unconverted tries by former England wing Jack Nowell and scrum-half Thomas Berjon.

From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026

In most brain surgeries the removed section of cortex is medical waste and would be binned.

From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025

Disposable sanitary pads are the most commonly used period product - they stick into your underwear, absorb blood externally and are wrapped and binned after use.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025

"I wonder what their king binned off," Tyrion said to Bronn when he heard the tale.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

"Together, we pioneered the trio binning method for genome assembly. This approach was also published in Nature Communications."

From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2026

England prop Joe Marler has apologised for a "poorly articulated" social media post before Saturday's match against New Zealand, where he said the haka "needs binning".

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024

Practising good hygiene - using and then binning a tissue for coughs and sneezes and washing your hands - can help prevent this.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2023

This new information about olfactory genes in cats was made possible through a new approach to genome sequencing called trio binning, which allows researchers to sequence the most difficult regions of a genome.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2023

The goodman cast a binning, and the goodwife the spurtle.

From More English Fairy Tales by John Dickson Batten