wastepaper
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of wastepaper
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.
The accusation, based on a comparison of handwriting on a document found in the German's wastepaper basket in Paris, kicked off what would become known as the "Dreyfus affair".
From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025
A sustainable alternative could be lightweight, cellulose aerogels, but current methods to produce them from wastepaper require several chemical pretreatment steps.
From Science Daily • Dec. 14, 2023
“Unfortunately, our long-standing demands for staff hirings, better training and above all use of modern safety technology always end up in the wastepaper basket,” it said in a statement.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2023
Tossing a bottle of Vichy water into a wastepaper basket, he walks off into the night with Rick to join the anti-Vichy French forces of Gen. Charles de Gaulle.
From Washington Post • Nov. 17, 2021
She ripped it up into little pieces and dropped them into the wastepaper basket.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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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.