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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.

Do it once, but make sure to sit beside a wastebasket.

From Salon • Oct. 4, 2025

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

And make sure trash makes it to the wastebasket.

From Washington Post • Oct. 11, 2022

Don’t use a wastebasket, because that might have germs.

From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate

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.