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garbology

American  
[gahr-bol-uh-jee] / gɑrˈbɒl ə dʒi /

noun

  1. the study of the material discarded by a society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns.

garbology British  
/ ɡɑːˈbɒlədʒɪ /

noun

  1. the study of the contents of domestic dustbins to analyse the consumption patterns of households

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of garbology

First recorded in 1976; garb(age) + -o- + -logy

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.

There was A. J. Weberman, who practiced garbology — searching through the trash for information about people like Bob Dylan and John N. Mitchell, the Nixon attorney general.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2014

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.