dumpster

or Dump·ster

[ duhmp-ster ]

noun

a large metal or plastic bin for refuse designed to be hoisted onto a specially equipped truck for emptying or hauling away.

Origin of dumpster

First recorded in 1935–40; dump + -ster, originally part of the jingle “Dempster Dumpster,” a trademark for a large trash container manufactured by the Dempster Brothers Company in Knoxville, Tennessee

Words Nearby dumpster

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dumpster in a sentence

They never had to dive into dumpsters behind the 7-11 to fish out Playboy magazines.
A Gift Guide 4 Teens Who Already Own Everything Anyone Could Ever Own | Eugene Robinson | July 9, 2021 | Ozy
That means a lot of recycled plastic can only be used to make items whose color doesn’t matter, such as benches and dumpsters.
New recycling technologies could keep more plastic out of landfills | Maria Temming | April 29, 2021 | Science News For Students
For example, due to February storms and power outages, Portland grocer Fred Meyer threw out thousands of pounds of food, and called the cops on residents who attempted to salvage it from the dumpster.
Think Food Prices Are Going Up? You’re Not Wrong. | Jaya Saxena | March 4, 2021 | Eater
It was Currey, who explained that he had found her wallet in the dumpster, and that he would like to return it to her.
A homeless man found a wallet. After he returned it, a 12-year-old raised hundreds of dollars for him. | Sydney Page | January 6, 2021 | Washington Post
Yet the game never really explains why everyone looks like they just crawled out of a Best Buy dumpster.
Cyberpunk 2077 Is a Mess On Every Level | Patrick Lucas Austin | December 17, 2020 | Time

He hangs up the phone, then flicks his cigarette into the grease dumpster, which erupts in flames.
Frank Underwood Will Not Tolerate Insubordination in This Olive Garden | Kelly Williams Brown | February 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
UNDERWOOD: (now smoking next to the grease dumpster out back) Ah wish ah could.
Frank Underwood Will Not Tolerate Insubordination in This Olive Garden | Kelly Williams Brown | February 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
BUSBOY: (screaming inside dumpster) WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!?!?!?
Frank Underwood Will Not Tolerate Insubordination in This Olive Garden | Kelly Williams Brown | February 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Micah asks one of her dumpster-diving friends, who scored a load of meat too big for any of them to finish.
This Week’s Hot Reads: November 4, 2013 | Damaris Colhoun | November 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
A homeless man found her nude body in a dumpster on January 1, 2007.
The Grim Sleeper’s Trial Is Moving at Snail’s Pace, and Victims’ Families Are Furious | Christine Pelisek | March 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
It wasn't as if sitting in the dumpster would infect it or something.
Little Brother | Cory Doctorow
The cat sprang away, clawing up his face, leaping back onto the dumpster.
Makers | Cory Doctorow
The dumpster was seven feet cubed, the duckies a few inches on a side.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town | Cory Doctorow
There were thousands and thousands of duckies in the dumpster: more than they could ever fit into the Buick.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town | Cory Doctorow
I found the most amazing cosmetics baskets at the Shiseido dumpster.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town | Cory Doctorow

Browse