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dustbin

American  
[duhst-bin] / ˈdʌstˌbɪn /
Or dust bin

noun

Chiefly British.

  1. an ashcan; garbage can.

dustbin British  
/ ˈdʌstˌbɪn /

noun

  1. US and Canadian names: garbage can.   trash can.  a large, usually cylindrical container for rubbish, esp one used by a household

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dustbin

First recorded in 1840–50; dust + bin

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.

But those primarily interested in dividend income shouldn’t toss them in the dustbin just yet.

From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026

Mathrani said he felt "100 years of history is being relegated to the dustbin".

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

The broadcast network triopoly went into the dustbin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025

Then it rescued the Federal Reserve from the dustbin of history and poorly explained why, though its explanation doesn’t really hold.

From Slate • Jun. 2, 2025

In the kitchen, Ugwu kept Olanna’s plate aside on the Formica counter and emptied the rest, watching rice, stew, greens, and bones slide into the dustbin.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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.