garbage can
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of garbage can
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10
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.
"They don't see us as a town. To them we're just another garbage can," she said.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
“No Black person’s ever asked me why Mookie threw the garbage can through the window,” he notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025
In her clip, the bear and the coyote are seemingly enjoying the spoils of a spilled garbage can, surveying the neighborhood while they weigh their next move.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2025
People snow skiing down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, garbage can lids and plastic baby pools used as makeshift sleds, snowmen on the beach; it was something out of this world.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2025
He darted into the darkness and ducked behind a large garbage can.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
