GARBAGE Definition & Meaning

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garbage

[ gahr-bij ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

discarded animal and vegetable matter, as from a kitchen; refuse.
any matter that is no longer wanted or needed; trash.
a bin or other receptacle for discarded matter, especially kitchen waste; garbage can:
Hey, who threw my leftover pizza in the garbage?
Synonyms: , , , , , , , , , , ,
anything that is contemptibly worthless, inferior, or vile:
There's nothing but garbage on TV tonight.
worthless talk; lies; foolishness.
Informal. any unnecessary item added to something else, as for appearance only; garnish:
I'll have an Old Fashioned, but without the garbage.
useless artificial satellites or parts of rockets floating in space, as satellites that are no longer transmitting information or rocket boosters jettisoned in flight.
Computers. meaningless or unwanted data:
That program was not properly debugged and produced nothing but garbage.

garbage

/ ˈɡɑː��ɪ�� /

noun

worthless, useless, or unwanted matter
Also calledrubbish discarded or waste matter; refuse
computing invalid data
informal.
nonsense

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of garbage¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English garbage, gabage “discarded parts of butchered fowls; entrails of fowls used for human food”; compare with Middle English garbelage “removal of refuse from spices,” Middle English garbelure “refuse found in spices,” and Old French garbage (also jarbage ) “tax on sheaves of grain,” but the shift of sense here is unclear; further origin uncertain; garble, -age

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of garbage¹

C15: probably from Anglo-French garbelage removal of discarded matter, of uncertain origin; compare Old Italian garbuglio confusion

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

When the dog found the correct garbage can, officers eventually knocked it over.

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They didn’t want to live alongside caravans of trucks bringing garbage in and toxic ash out.

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Or that Trump’s deputy chief of staff had called out the organization Friday for featuring a “2nd rate comedian” at the dinner and the next day referred to Ruffin as a “garbage, hate-filled comedian.”

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The organization also sampled 25 different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organic compounds that form when oil, wood or garbage burns.

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The statement added that Shingoose's body was placed in a garbage bin behind a commercial business after she was killed.

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