waste

[ weyst ]

/ weɪst /

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See synonyms for: waste / wasted / wasting on Thesaurus.com

Definition of waste

verb (used with object), wast·ed, wast·ing.

to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander: to waste money; to waste words.

to fail or neglect to use: to waste an opportunity.

to destroy or consume gradually; wear away: The waves waste the rock of the shore.

to wear down or reduce in bodily substance, health, or strength; emaciate; enfeeble: to be wasted by disease or hunger.

to destroy, devastate, or ruin: a country wasted by a long and futile war.

Slang. to kill or murder.

verb (used without object), wast·ed, wast·ing.

to be consumed, spent, or employed uselessly or without giving full value or being fully utilized or appreciated.

to become gradually consumed, used up, or worn away: A candle wastes in burning.

to become physically worn; lose flesh or strength; become emaciated or enfeebled.

to diminish gradually; dwindle, as wealth, power, etc.: The might of England is wasting.

to pass gradually, as time.

noun

useless consumption or expenditure; use without adequate return; an act or instance of wasting: The project was a waste of material, money, time, and energy.

neglect, instead of use: waste of opportunity.

gradual destruction, impairment, or decay: the waste and repair of bodily tissue.

devastation or ruin, as from war or fire.

a region or place devastated or ruined: The forest fire left a blackened waste.

anything unused, unproductive, or not properly utilized.

an uncultivated tract of land.

a wild region or tract of land; desolate country, desert, or the like.

an empty, desolate, or dreary tract or extent: a waste of snow.

anything left over or superfluous, as excess material or by-products, not of use for the work in hand: a fortune made in salvaging factory wastes.

remnants, as from the working of cotton, used for wiping machinery, absorbing oil, etc.

Physical Geography. material derived by mechanical and chemical disintegration of rock, as the detritus transported by streams, rivers, etc.

garbage; refuse.

wastes, excrement.

adjective

not used or in use: waste energy; waste talents.

(of land, regions, etc.) wild, desolate, barren, or uninhabited; desert.

(of regions, towns, etc.) in a state of desolation and ruin, as from devastation or decay.

left over or superfluous: to utilize waste products of manufacture.

having served or fulfilled a purpose; no longer of use.

rejected as useless or worthless; refuse: to salvage waste products.

Physiology. pertaining to material unused by or unusable to the organism.

designed or used to receive, hold, or carry away excess, superfluous, used, or useless material (often in combination): a waste pipe; waste container.

Obsolete. excessive; needless.

OTHER WORDS FOR waste

1 misspend, dissipate, fritter away, expend.

3 erode.

5 ravage, pillage, plunder, sack, spoil, despoil.

10 decline, ebb, wane, decay.

12 dissipation.

14 diminution, decline, emaciation, consumption.

15 spoliation, desolation.

24 rubbish, trash.

28 ruined, destroyed.

29 unused, useless, extra.

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OPPOSITES FOR waste

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Idioms about waste

go to waste, to fail to be used or consumed; be wasted: She hates to see good food go to waste.

lay waste, to devastate; destroy; ruin: Forest fires lay waste thousands of acres yearly.

Origin of waste

1150–1200; 1960–65 for def. 6; (adj.) Middle English <Old North French wast (Old French g(u)ast) <Latin vāstus desolate; (v.) Middle English <Old North French waster (Old French g(u)aster) <Latin vāstāre, derivative of vāstus; (noun) Middle English <Old North French wast(e) (Old French g(u)aste), partly <Latin vāstum, noun use of neuter of vāstus, partly derivative of waster;Old North French w-,Old French gu- by influence of cognate with Frankish *wōsti desolate (cognate with Old High German wuosti)

synonym study for waste

19. See desert¹. 36. See ravage.

OTHER WORDS FROM waste

wast·a·ble, adjectivewasteless, adjectiveoutwaste, verb (used with object), out·wast·ed, out·wast·ing.un·wast·a·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH waste

waist, waste

Words nearby waste

Wasserstein, Wassily chair, wassup, wast, wastage, waste, waste away, wastebasket, wasted, waste disposal unit, wasteful

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use waste in a sentence

A lot of time and energy is wasted among analysts in debating how exactly to characterize skewed maps that result from residential segregation.
America needs a democratic revolution|Matthew Yglesias|September 17, 2020|Vox
Not surprisingly, the vast waste deposits produced during the Great Acceleration figure prominently in the search for a suitable stratigraphic section to place the GSSP that will mark the start of the Anthropocene.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green|Summer Praetorius|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
Some of the ones my other friend got were round, which wastes space.
How (and Why) to Execute the Perfect Canoe Portage|Alex Hutchinson|September 9, 2020|Outside Online
“If you don’t find out what the answer is, you’re kind of wasting your time,” he says.
Top 10 tips on how to study smarter, not longer|Kathiann Kowalski|September 9, 2020|Science News For Students

You do not have to waste your time on the same project again and use it on another channel or place to reach your target audience quickly and easily.
How businesses can use YouTube to tackle the COVID-19 business crisis|Catherrine Garcia|September 7, 2020|Search Engine Watch
When twelve people are killed by violence, whoever they are, for whatever reason, that is a tragedy and a waste.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
First, though, he has to be shocked into recognizing the barren waste of his spiritual life – by spirits.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He said he watched waste haulers back up to the pit and unleash torrents of watery muck.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kocurek became especially frustrated with a commercial waste facility in Jim Wells County.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They also used the powers of their separate agencies to cite waste haulers for spilling sludge along roadways.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is the principal waste-product of metabolism, and constitutes about one-half of all the solids excreted—about 30 gm.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Then the croupier tears open two packets of new cards, flinging the old ones into a waste-paper basket at his side.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Don't waste your valuable time looking for the biggest angleworm in the garden!
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
In a literal sense, too,” added Tom Brown, “for it will be sold as waste-paper and be made up into matches.
Hunting the Lions|R.M. Ballantyne
Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, it is silent: because the wall of Moab is destroyed in the night, it is silent.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for waste

waste

/ (weɪst) /

verb

(tr) to use, consume, or expend thoughtlessly, carelessly, or to no avail

(tr) to fail to take advantage ofto waste an opportunity

(when intr, often foll by away) to lose or cause to lose bodily strength, health, etc

to exhaust or become exhausted

(tr) to ravage

(tr) informal to murder or killI want that guy wasted by tomorrow

noun

the act of wasting or state of being wasted

a failure to take advantage of something

anything unused or not used to full advantage

anything or anyone rejected as useless, worthless, or in excess of what is required

garbage, rubbish, or trash

a land or region that is devastated or ruined

a land or region that is wild or uncultivated

physiol

the useless products of metabolism
indigestible food residue

disintegrated rock material resulting from erosion

law reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect, esp by a life-tenant

adjective

rejected as useless, unwanted, or worthless

produced in excess of what is required

not cultivated, inhabited, or productivewaste land

of or denoting the useless products of metabolism
of or denoting indigestible food residue

destroyed, devastated, or ruined

designed to contain or convey waste products

lay waste to devastate or destroy

Derived forms of waste

wastable, adjective

Word Origin for waste

C13: from Anglo-French waster, from Latin vastāre to lay waste, from vastus empty

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

Scientific definitions for waste

waste

[ wāst ]

Noun

An unusable or unwanted substance or material, such as a waste product. See also hazardous waste landfill.

Verb

To lose or cause to lose energy, strength, weight, or vigor, as by the progressive effects of a disease such as metastatic cancer.

Other Idioms and Phrases with waste

waste

In addition to the idioms beginning with waste

waste away
waste not, want not
waste one's breath

also see:

go to waste
haste makes waste
lay waste

waste

Definition of waste

OTHER WORDS FOR waste

OPPOSITES FOR waste

Idioms about waste

Origin of waste

synonym study for waste

OTHER WORDS FROM waste

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH waste

Words nearby waste

Words related to waste

How to use waste in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for waste

Derived forms of waste

Word Origin for waste

Scientific definitions for waste

Other Idioms and Phrases with waste