scrapyard

American  

[skrap-yahrd] / ˈskræpˌjɑrd /

noun

1. a business with a large space, including outdoor space, to store items or parts purchased from customers for resale as raw material.

   The carmaker sold more than 5,700 pounds of reclaimed copper wire to the scrapyard.

---

Etymology

Origin of scrapyard

First recorded in 1860–65; scrap ¹ ( def. ) + yard ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scrapyard

"What is waste to us became something valuable in his hands," scrapyard owner Bostan Khan told AFP.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

In Louisville, Ky., law enforcement arrested seven people in an alleged copper-theft scheme based on a tip from a scrapyard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025

"Don't be afraid to fail," says one woman from Bristol who has gone from working part-time in a scrapyard, to creating a successful beauty brand in just four years.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025

Matthew Weisenberg provided her and an inspector from the local air district with an internal report suggesting a tank had exploded within the scrapyard, Alvarez said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2024

In the early 1990s, Issaquah native Lewis Carpenter found it in a Czech scrapyard and paid $40,000 to get the seven-ton thing back home.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023