trash

[ trash ]

/ træʃ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR trash ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

anything worthless, useless, or discarded; rubbish.

foolish or pointless ideas, talk, or writing; nonsense.

a worthless or disreputable person.

such persons collectively.

literary or artistic material of poor or inferior quality.

broken or torn bits, as twigs, splinters, rags, or the like.

something that is broken or lopped off from anything in preparing it for use.

the refuse of sugar cane after the juice has been expressed.

Computers. an icon of a trash can that is used to delete files dragged onto it.

verb (used with object)

Slang. to destroy, damage, or vandalize, as in anger or protest: The slovenly renters had trashed the house.

to condemn, dismiss, or criticize as worthless: The article trashed several recent best-sellers.

to remove the outer leaves of (a growing sugar cane plant).

to free from superfluous twigs or branches.

Nearby words

traprock, traps, trapshooting, trapunto, trasentine, trash, trash and cash, trash can, trash farming, trash fish, trash rack

Origin of trash

1325–75; Middle English trasches (plural), apparently cognate with Norwegian trask rubbish; akin to Old English trus brushwood, Old Norse tros rubbish

SYNONYMS FOR trash

5 drivel, rot, hogwash, nonsense.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR trash ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for trash

When two NYPD lieutenants intervened, police say Linsker put the trash can down but resisted arrest.
The High-Priced Union Rep Charged With Attacking a Cop|Jacob Siegel|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Aside from producing odors and mountains of trash, they increasingly produce power.
Garbage In, Power Out|The Daily Beast|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The song went into the trash can of rock and roll history, and it took almost 50 years for it to find the right singer.
Greil Marcus Talks About Trying to Unlock Rock and Roll in 10 Songs|Allen Barra|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The problem runs far deeper, to an absurdly narrow legal definition of ‘corruption’ that throws democracy on the trash heap.
Undo Citizens United? We’d Only Scratch the Surface|Jedediah Purdy|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Yeonmi gathered clothes from the trash, while her parents collected water from a dripping tap.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State|Lizzie Crocker|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Though I needn't wonder so much at that, either, for they wanted to feed you on trash—squirrels and birds, and I wouldn't let 'em.
The Red Moccasins|Morrison Heady
This pile of trash you can burn, or you can sell it to the old-paper man.
The Unpublishable Memoirs|A. S. W. Rosenbach
What's the meaning of all that trash about your daughter being a great lady?
Love and Intrigue|Friedrich Schiller
He searched his pockets, and, lucky thought, there among the trash were two small rifle cartridges.
Harper's Round Table, October 29, 1895|Various
Then the girl scrambled for the remainder of the broken crackers and carried them all out into the hall in the trash basket.
The Corner House Girls at School|Grace Brooks Hill

British Dictionary definitions for trash (1 of 2)

trash

/ (træʃ) /

noun

foolish ideas or talk; nonsense

mainly US and Canadian useless or unwanted matter or objects

a literary or artistic production of poor quality

mainly US and Canadian a poor or worthless person or a group of such people

bits that are broken or lopped off, esp the trimmings from trees or plants

the dry remains of sugar cane after the juice has been extracted

verb

to remove the outer leaves and branches from (growing plants, esp sugar cane)

slang to attack or destroy (someone or something) wilfully or maliciously

Derived Formstrashery, noun

Word Origin for trash

C16: of obscure origin; perhaps related to Norwegian trask

British Dictionary definitions for trash (2 of 2)

trash

/ (træʃ) archaic /

verb

(tr) to restrain with or as if with a lead

noun

a lead for a dog

Word Origin for trash

C17: perhaps from obsolete French tracier to track, trace 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for trash (1 of 2)

trash

"anything of little use or value," late 14c., perhaps from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse tros "rubbish, fallen leaves and twigs," Norwegian dialectal trask "lumber, trash, baggage," Swedish trasa "rags, tatters"), of unknown origin. Applied to ill-bred persons or groups from 1604 ("Othello"). Applied to domestic refuse or garbage in 1906 (American English).

Word Origin and History for trash (1 of 2)

trash

"to discard as worthless," 1895, from trash (n.); in the sense of "destroy, vandalize" it is attested from 1970; extended to "criticize severely" in 1975. Related: Trashed; trashing.

trash

noun

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Origin of trash

Examples from the Web for trash

British Dictionary definitions for trash (1 of 2)

trash

noun

verb

Word Origin for trash

British Dictionary definitions for trash (2 of 2)

trash

verb

noun

Word Origin for trash

Word Origin and History for trash (1 of 2)

trash

Word Origin and History for trash (1 of 2)

trash