trash

American  

[trash] / træʃ /

noun

1. anything worthless, useless, or discarded; rubbish.

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

3. a worthless or disreputable person.

4. such persons collectively.

5. literary or artistic material of poor or inferior quality.

   Synonyms:

   tripe, rubbish, twaddle, hogwash, rot, drivel

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

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

8. the refuse of sugarcane after the juice has been expressed.

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

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verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to destroy, damage, or vandalize, as in anger or protest.

   The slovenly renters had trashed the house.

2. to condemn, dismiss, or criticize as worthless.

   The article trashed several recent best-sellers.

3. to remove the outer leaves of (a growing sugarcane plant).

4. to free from superfluous twigs or branches.

trash ¹ British  

/ træʃ /

noun

1. foolish ideas or talk; nonsense

2. useless or unwanted matter or objects

3. a literary or artistic production of poor quality

4. a poor or worthless person or a group of such people

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

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

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verb

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

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

trash ² British  

/ træʃ /

verb

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

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noun

1. a lead for a dog

Other Word Forms

• trashery noun

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”

Example Sentences

There were dark streets, stalled robotaxis, even discarded dough from local bakeries bursting from trash bins.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I would shove all of my trash into these pockets,” said the 32-year-old engineer in Atlanta.

From The Wall Street Journal

And while a cursory examination of the film might ascribe that attribute to the public’s taste for poorly made, mid-tier trash, that conclusion would be wholly incorrect.

From Salon

Paulo found an unemployed gospel singer who made a living scavenging Latin America's largest trash dump.

From The Wall Street Journal

I need to dump it in the trash behind the building, but I don’t want to run into anyone who might ask about Mom.

From Literature

Related Words

• debris
• droppings
• junk
• litter
• residue
• rubbish
• rubble
• sediment
• waste