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
Once, he even called out a Reds player’s lack of hustle on the basepaths — and ended up stuffed in a garbage can.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
A few minutes later I came upon another man, who was digging through a garbage can for something to drink.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2025
He tossed his empty plate into the garbage can and went off in search of a drink, leaving Moody alone with the last few bites of his quiche, now gone cold.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
