scrap heap

American  

Or scrapheap

noun

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

2. a place for dumping old, useless things.

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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

Police are warning that more illegal and modified e-bikes will be seized in the coming months and say they will end up on the scrap heap.

From BBC • Aug. 31, 2025

This is another that belongs on the scrap heap.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 27, 2025

This scrap heap of hulking male humanity landed perhaps seven feet away from me, and I wasn't in danger of being plowed over myself, as sideline photographers sometimes are.

From Salon • Oct. 1, 2023

And just when Holly had mentally consigned herself to the scrap heap, she felt it.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer