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.
After receiving one particular screenplay, Mr. Lloyd admits that he “skimmed through it and tossed it into a wastepaper basket.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
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
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
The man in the cowboy hat spit sunflower seed shells into a wastepaper basket.
From "Holes" by Louis Sachar
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
