noun

rubbish

RUH-bihsh

noun

(chiefly British) Waste material; trash or garbage.

"Take the rubbish out before the bin men come."

Nonsense; something untrue or absurd.

"Don't listen to him, he's talking rubbish."

adjective

(informal, British) Very poor in quality; bad.

"The film was absolutely rubbish."

verb

To criticize or dismiss something harshly.

"The critics rubbished his new album."

How to Use Rubbish

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishBritish word for trash, or for nonsense; also used as an adjective meaning "bad," and as a verb meaning to criticize something.

UK vs US

This word (in all its senses) is much more common in British English; Americans typically say "garbage" or "trash" and "terrible" or "awful."

Common pairings

take out the rubbish talk rubbish rubbish bin

Word Forms

more rubbish comparative, rubbisher comparative, rubbished past tense, rubbishes plural, rubbishes singular, most rubbish superlative, rubbishest superlative

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Take the _____ out before the bin men come.

Etymology

From Middle English robous, meaning building waste or broken stone — its exact origin before that is uncertain.