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• Waste not, want not
  Waste not, want not

  If we don't waste what we have, we'll still have it in the future and will not lack (want) it.
• waste not, want not
  waste not, want not

  Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty. For example, I just hate to throw out good food—waste not, want not. This proverbial saying was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576).

Waste not, want not

Cultural  

1. If we don't waste what we have, we'll still have it in the future and will not lack (want) it.

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waste not, want not Idioms  

1. Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty. For example, I just hate to throw out good food—waste not, want not. This proverbial saying was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576).

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Example Sentences

The inspiration for the name comes from the Japanese term mottainai, which laments waste - think of the phrase "waste not, want not" and you have the sentiment.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

The result is a relatively respectable chicken quesadilla that not only sates you in the moment, but satisfies a core value of "waste not, want not."

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2021

When it comes to information, waste not, want not.

From Time Magazine Archive

When the crew used a barge filled with real garbage on CSI: Miami, it found a bloated dead rat that � waste not, want not � it used in the scene.

From Time Magazine Archive

Murphy took a "waste not, want not" approach from the start.

From Time Magazine Archive