garbage

[ gahr-bij ]

/ ˈgɑr bɪdʒ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR garbage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

discarded animal and vegetable matter, as from a kitchen; refuse.

any matter that is no longer wanted or needed; trash.

anything that is contemptibly worthless, inferior, or vile: There's nothing but garbage on TV tonight.

worthless talk; lies; foolishness.

Slang. any unnecessary item added to something else, as for appearance only; garnish: I'll have an Old Fashioned, but without the garbage.

useless artificial satellites or parts of rockets floating in space, as satellites that are no longer transmitting information or rocket boosters jettisoned in flight.

Computers. meaningless or unwanted data: That program was not properly debugged and produced nothing but garbage.

Words nearby garbage

garam masala, garamond, garand, garand rifle, garb, garbage, garbage can, garbage collection, garbage in, garbage out, garbage truck, garbageman

Origin of garbage

1400–50; late Middle English: discarded parts of butchered fowls; compared with garbelage the removal of waste from spices (< Anglo-French, Old French; see garble, -age) or Old French garbage tax on sheaves of grain, though shift of sense, and form in first case, is unclear

SYNONYMS FOR garbage

2 litter, refuse, junk, rubbish.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR garbage ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for garbage

“At worst, Eric picked up a garbage can, was told by police to put it down, and did,” his lawyer, Martin Stoler, insisted.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop|Michael Daly|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Brabner talked about the “MTV people” coming to Cleveland to get pictures of Pekar emptying the garbage and going bowling.
The Rustbelt Roars Back From the Dead|Joel Kotkin, Richey Piiparinen|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The kid moved again, slowly across the parking lot to the garbage bin.
The Stacks: A Chicken Dinner That Mends Your Heart|Pete Dexter|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then he took the chicken and walked over to his spot near the garbage and sat down to eat it.
The Stacks: A Chicken Dinner That Mends Your Heart|Pete Dexter|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He held the garbage close to his face, then put it back in the bin.
The Stacks: A Chicken Dinner That Mends Your Heart|Pete Dexter|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A garbage collector jabbered excitedly that he had found the victim lying thus only a moment before.
Saboteurs on the River|Mildred A. Wirt
They won't like him as a sermon so much as a garbage man but he's a sermon just the same.
Vignettes Of San Francisco|Almira Bailey
The Horse-Car is an omnivorous animal, though its chief diet is garbage, as our sense of smell has often proved to us.
Punchinello, Vol. II., No. 35, November 26, 1870|Various
Their wells polluted with garbage and filth; in some cases deliberately poisoned, in others totally destroyed by dynamite.
How I Filmed the War|Lieut. Geoffrey H. Malins
The garbage pail should be emptied and washed every day, and carefully scalded once or twice a week.
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Science in Rural Schools|Ministry of Education Ontario

British Dictionary definitions for garbage

garbage

/ (ˈɡɑːbɪdʒ) /

noun

worthless, useless, or unwanted matter

Also called: rubbish discarded or waste matter; refuse

computing invalid data

informal nonsense

Word Origin for garbage

C15: probably from Anglo-French garbelage removal of discarded matter, of uncertain origin; compare Old Italian garbuglio confusion

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

garbage

noun

Content related to garbage

Words related to garbage

Words nearby garbage

Origin of garbage

SYNONYMS FOR garbage

Examples from the Web for garbage

British Dictionary definitions for garbage

noun

Word Origin for garbage