garbageman

American  

[gahr-bij-man] / ˈgɑr bɪdʒˌmæn /

noun

plural

garbagemen

1. a person employed to collect, haul away, and dispose of garbage; sanitation worker.

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Etymology

Origin of garbageman

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; garbage + man

Example Sentences

Opening on Broadway in 1987, the play ran for more than a year, starring James Earl Jones as her husband, Troy, a bitter garbageman who played Negro League baseball before serving time in prison.

From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2022

I telephoned Sayyid, a friend who was the neighborhood garbageman, because he had been at the apartment.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 25, 2019

Patty Condello, a retired garbageman, yelled as he cut the motor.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2017

Special Forces, or as a player-coach in Boston, an emergency-room doctor in Chicago, or a garbageman in Paris.

From Slate • Jun. 26, 2013

I talked with Judy at breakfast, and she told me how she had wanted to be a garbageman when she was a kid.

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers