scrap heap

American  

Or scrapheap

noun

1. a pile of old, discarded material, as metal.

2. a place for dumping old, useless things.

---

Etymology

Origin of scrap heap

First recorded in 1830–40; scrap ¹ + heap

Example Sentences

Among the items destined for the scrap heap is the gantry, which once sheltered Soyuz rockets from the tropical weather.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

This is another that belongs on the scrap heap.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 27, 2025

"It's absolutely infuriating that a treatable condition like this is ignored and that women are put on the scrap heap," said Lipoedema UK's head of research Dr Lesley Steinitz.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2025

The trademarked seal now appears on Mondelez's air-dried vegetable crisps and some of Danone's yogurt, assuring buyers that the zucchini and lemons inside the package have been saved from the scrap heap.

From Salon • Jun. 1, 2022

I knew I should be drunk with gratitude that I, an ignorant girl who’d crawled out of a scrap heap, should be allowed to study there, but I couldn’t summon the fervor.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover