trash
Americannoun
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trash
plural
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anything worthless, useless, or discarded; rubbish.
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foolish or pointless ideas, talk, or writing; nonsense.
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a worthless or disreputable person.
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such persons collectively.
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literary or artistic material of poor or inferior quality.
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broken or torn bits, as twigs, splinters, rags, or the like.
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something that is broken or lopped off from anything in preparing it for use.
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the refuse of sugarcane after the juice has been expressed.
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Computers. an icon of a trash can that is used to delete files dragged onto it.
verb (used with object)
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trashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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trashed,
past participle, past
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trashing
present participle
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Slang. to destroy, damage, or vandalize, as in anger or protest.
The slovenly renters had trashed the house.
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to condemn, dismiss, or criticize as worthless.
The article trashed several recent best-sellers.
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to remove the outer leaves of (a growing sugarcane plant).
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to free from superfluous twigs or branches.
noun
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foolish ideas or talk; nonsense
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useless or unwanted matter or objects
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a literary or artistic production of poor quality
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a poor or worthless person or a group of such people
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bits that are broken or lopped off, esp the trimmings from trees or plants
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the dry remains of sugar cane after the juice has been extracted
verb
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to remove the outer leaves and branches from (growing plants, esp sugar cane)
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slang to attack or destroy (someone or something) wilfully or maliciously
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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trashsimple
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trashessimple
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have trashedperfect
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has trashedperfect
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am trashingprogressive
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are trashingprogressive
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is trashingprogressive
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have been trashingperfect progressive
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has been trashingperfect progressive
Past
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trashedsimple
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had trashedperfect
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was trashingprogressive
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were trashingprogressive
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had been trashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trash
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English trasches (plural), apparently cognate with Norwegian trask “rubbish”; akin to Old English trus “brushwood,” Old Norse tros “rubbish”
Explanation
Trash is rubbish or garbage — it's the stuff that gets thrown away. Your town might organize a clean-up day each year when people pick up trash in parks and neighborhoods. Trash is dirty, worthless, leftover debris. Fittingly, the word is also a terribly derogatory term for useless, low-status people: "I should've known you were nothing but trash." And to trash talk is to brutally criticize or gossip about someone. You can even use trash as a verb, to mean "throw away," as in, "I'm going to trash this trash in that trash can over there."
Vocabulary lists containing trash
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.
See Examples For:
Mountains of uncollected trash fill the streets of the crumbling capital, Havana.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Typically when I move to a new place, the red-and-blue-striped envelope from the post office confirming my new address goes directly from the mailbox into the trash.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The first time he decided to trash one of the cameras, a self-styled vigilante wearing all black and known as Nomark says he was "super nervous."
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
I’ll work on a puzzle and watch some trash popcorn TV that I love — reality TV: “Love Island,” “Temptation Island,” “Survivor,” anything like that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
As Clara strode down the revitalized halls, the doors of auditorium one opened, and people poured out in a steady stream, seeking the bathrooms and a trash bin for their empty bags of popcorn.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Only firms in desperate need of cash sell more shares when their valuations are low, because it dilutes existing shareholders and trashes the share price.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
The former insurance executive trashes five days a week, and hikes in the Santa Susana Mountains every Friday afternoon with several volunteers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2025
An attorney who trashes the rule of law must know that eventually she will be barred from practicing it.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2025
Spawned when the body trashes old red blood cells, the molecule is harmful refuse and a sign of illness.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 8, 2023
For example, in a text-processing tool that crunches a line at a time, a short line buffer can result in lossage as input from a long line overflows the buffer and trashes data beyond it.
From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Guy L. Steele
The worst ones seem to happen during bear markets, when the winning stocks of the preceding boom get trashed.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
In March 1989, a midday tube rupture at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo sent cleaning solvent-filled steam into the air and trashed the paint jobs on about 2,000 neighboring cars and trucks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
A wildlife haven in Ayrshire has been "trashed" due to a four-year wait over whether or not to designate the site for protection, according to environmental campaigners.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
Some acquired original artworks, often for free, from editors who might have otherwise trashed them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
We could get trashed by women as well, for singling ourselves out, putting ourselves forward.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
"You get red mist when you see them trashing your years' work and this is all you've got. And they're just trashing it," says Lemon.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Absolutely not! They made their decision and took the low road to unearned riches to play in a subpar league, while trashing the PGA Tour on the way out, showing a complete lack of sportsmanship.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
"Scientists trashing each other in the media is not constructive."
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
She drives from Simi Valley five days a week to go trashing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2025
They're being careful, not trashing the place, not making a mess.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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.
