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wastebasket

American  
[weyst-bas-kit, -bah-skit] / ˈweɪstˌbæs kɪt, -ˌbɑ skɪt /

noun

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

wastebasket British  
/ ˈweɪstˌbɑːskɪt /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of wastebasket

First recorded in 1855–60; waste + basket

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.

These commitments are important, as they give Kennedy something to wad up and christen his wastebasket with when he steps into his new office.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2024

Kids might not yell his name the way they hollered “KOBE!” as they faded away and tossed a rolled up piece of paper toward the wastebasket.

From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2021

His allies then cleared out, taking the wastebasket with them.

From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2021

There was no wastebasket in sight, so I crumpled the flowers up and laid them in the deep white basin.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

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.