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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

Private investment company ADUG, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, bought City in 2008 and has transformed the club from also-rans into a dominant force.

From Barron's ● 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

The force said 20 black bin bags were found during the West Yorkshire operation, led by the Regional Organised Crime Unit.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

For bin Laden, who despised the Western influence on the Middle East, his religion, Islam, influenced his political beliefs.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

They also spruced up the streets, picking litter, weeding, and painting bins.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 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

Finally, he hid behind a row of garbage bins and held his breath.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

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

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

There was still 30 seconds left to play when the invasion happened, but that time was binned in the chaos.

From BBC ● May 16, 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

Then, Ronan Kelleher came up offside and got binned.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025

Jon clapped him on the shoulder with his binned hand.

From "A Clash of Kings" 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

But Suez and Biffa have said people are still treating reusable vapes as disposable, and binning them after one or two uses.

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025

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

In contrast to Mr Song, Ms Han only moved in 15 days ago, and is now binning belongings that never made it out of the box.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2023

After the usual preliminaries of pantomime and binning, I am conducted to a capacious flat roof, the common covering of several dwellings and stables bunched up together.

From Around the World on a Bicycle - Volume 1 From San Francisco to Teheran by Thomas Stevens