garbage can
Americannoun
-
garbage cans
plural
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.
Next to an upside-down garbage can improbably sprouting legs and a head and tinnily broadcasting “God Bless America” is a figure group modeled on the famous image of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Another created an animated video, geared to a Latino audience, showing Angelenos lining the streets to cheer as Pratt wheels a garbage can piled with trash and the incumbent mayor.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
"They don't see us as a town. To them we're just another garbage can," she said.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
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
She peeled the wrapper from the granola bar and popped it into the garbage can and went upstairs, leaving Mia deep in thought.
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.
