dustman

American  

[duhst-man, -muhn] / ˈdʌstˌmæn, -mən /

noun

British.

plural

dustmen

1. a person employed to remove or cart away garbage, refuse, ashes, etc.; garbage collector.

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dustman British  

/ ˈdʌstmən /

noun

1. a man whose job is to collect domestic refuse

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Etymology

Origin of dustman

First recorded in 1700–10; dust + man

Example Sentences

He took a year out to apply to study law, during which he worked as a dustman, on a kibbutz and as a ballpoint pen salesman in South Africa.

From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025

"My daughter has been trying to teach me all of these words like rizz and wasteman which I now understand is not a dustman but rather a waste of space."

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2024

She said they could get smitten with “the dustman, the postman, the butcher or the prime minister. It happens to be about the people.”

From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2017

And each spinner must give the impression that it is a new organisation, not the trash the dustman left behind.

From Economist • May 2, 2013

Squelch's dad's only a dustman but his garden's like a National Trust property.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell