wastebasket

[weyst-bas-kit, -bah-skit]

noun

1. a standing basket for wastepaper, small items of trash, etc.

wastebasket

/ ˈweɪstˌbɑːskɪt /

noun

1. Also called (esp in Britain): wastepaper basket. an open receptacle for paper and other dry litter

Word History and Origins

Origin of wastebasket¹

First recorded in 1855–60; waste + basket

Example Sentences

Crawl up the wastebasket—oooh, I didn’t know it would sway like that!

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This trend should be in the same wastebasket as mullets, microwave dinners and inflated lips.

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Last month, in an act of showmanship during a Facebook Live event, Fain condemned a contract proposal from Stellantis as “trash” — and tossed a copy of it into a wastebasket, “where it belongs,” he said.

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She said, “Suds, will you excuse yourself from Joey long enough to empty your wastebasket, please.”

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There is an empty, deflated bag of microwave popcorn crumpled in the wastebasket.

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Related Words

• dustbin