junkyard
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of junkyard
Explanation
A junkyard is a place where garbage is kept, especially scrap metal, until it's sold. Most of the trash in a junkyard can be reused or recycled. Piles of rusted metal and smashed bodies of old cars are common sights at a junkyard. The word clearly comes from the junk, or trash, that's stored there — and although it is undeniably junky, it's also got some value to companies that recycle metal. Junkyards are also called "wrecking yards" or "scrapyards." A "junkyard dog" is a guard dog that keeps watch overnight in case thieves try to steal valuable metal.
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.
One account on X said: "Ferrari just killed their brand just like Jaguar did. This is straight to the junkyard trash."
From BBC • May 26, 2026
A farmer who owned a Model T didn’t need a forge or metal lathe to fix his engine; he could simply order a replacement part—or cannibalize one from a wrecked car in a junkyard.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
He fondly remembers “every rec center function playing, live board recordings on CD-Rs of backyard and junkyard bands.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2025
Eliot, unfolding as a dance-heavy, revue-like show about cats gathering in a junkyard for their annual Jellicle Ball, has been seen as strange at best, and kitsch at worst.
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2024
“Like Percy said, don’t touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods.”
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
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.
