scrap heap
Americannoun
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a pile of old, discarded material, as metal.
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a place for dumping old, useless things.
Etymology
Origin of scrap heap
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.
Parts intended for the scrap heap were used on the Dreamliner, we are told.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
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
If that’s what’s best for her, then he’s OK with being cast on the scrap heap.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2024
"We will not stand back and allow our livelihoods, our communities and the UK's steelmaking capacity to be thrown on the scrap heap."
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2024
He is perhaps best known for this quote: “We will turn this prison from a scrap heap into a repair shop.”
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
