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Synonyms

waste away

Idioms  

  1. Lose energy and vigor, become enfeebled and weak, as in She was wasting away before our eyes. [Late 1300s]

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.

His work suggests these vessels act as channels that carry waste away from the brain and into the body's broader lymphatic network, where it can be removed.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

The Universal Waste Management System—that’s the toilet—uses air flow to pull fluid and solid waste away into containers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

In addition, spending time in microgravity causes muscles to waste away.

From Slate • Mar. 1, 2026

"We were so scared," added Peter Otieno, another worker from western Kenya, recalling how they watched their infected colleagues waste away day by day.

From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026

“Please don’t let me waste away here. I want to go home.”

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

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.