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Synonyms

go to waste

Idioms  

  1. Fail to be used or taken advantage of. For example, I hate to see such talent go to waste, or We bought so much food that some will be going to waste. [c. 1500]

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.

At Spring, she fashioned discount dishes out of such items as potato skins that otherwise would go to waste.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025

Unable to make it to the market, his precious merchandise will likely go to waste.

From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025

And electricity produced by such renewables can go to waste unless it can be stored and then delivered at a time when it's needed, such as everyone turning on the lights in the evening.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025

They have also pledged £13m to a dozen food charities across England to "fight food poverty", by redistributing food from farms which might otherwise go to waste.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2025

No reason to let good food go to waste.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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.