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
New visitors found the sculpture—inspired by an Indian stepwell and sometimes likened to a wastepaper basket or a shawarma—encased in metal mesh, as if to keep out pigeons.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2025
Among the many kinds of trash that accumulate within a home, wastepaper is one of the most common.
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
She finds a worn-down tube of lipstick in her mother’s wastepaper basket and hides it away, and takes it to school in her pocket.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
