garbage
GAH-bihj
Garbage (noun) means Waste material, especially food scraps and household rubbish, thrown away as useless. Example: “Seagulls kept tearing open the bags of garbage left beside the road.”
noun
1
Waste material, especially food scraps and household rubbish, thrown away as useless.
"Seagulls kept tearing open the bags of garbage left beside the road."
"Take the garbage out before the truck comes on Tuesday."
"The bins were overflowing with garbage after the festival."
2
Nonsense, or something of very poor quality.
"Don't believe everything you read online; most of it is garbage."
"I think his excuse was complete garbage, and everyone knew it."
"Critics called the sequel absolute garbage."
How to use garbage
Learner’s notes
UK vs US
"Garbage" is standard American English; British English usually says "rubbish" instead, though "garbage" is understood everywhere.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
garbage can
garbage collector
talk garbage
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Word forms
- Third person singular
- garbages
- Past tense
- garbaged
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Seagulls kept tearing open the bags of _____ left beside the road.
Etymology
Originally meant the waste parts of a butchered animal, from Anglo-Norman via Old French garber, "to clean up or refine" — the sense later widened to any rubbish.
Related words
Rhymes for garbage
See all rhymes for garbage →Frequently asked questions
What does “garbage” mean?
The word “garbage” means waste material, especially food scraps and household rubbish, thrown away as useless.
How do you pronounce “garbage”?
“Garbage” is pronounced GAH-bihj (/ˈɡɑɹ.bɪd͡ʒ/ in IPA).
How do you use “garbage” in a sentence?
Here is “garbage” used in a sentence: “Take the garbage out before the truck comes on Tuesday.”
What part of speech is “garbage”?
“Garbage” is a noun.
Where does the word “garbage” come from?
The word “garbage” comes from Old French. Originally meant the waste parts of a butchered animal, from Anglo-Norman via Old French garber, "to clean up or refine" — the sense later widened to any rubbish.
Is “garbage” a common word?
“Garbage” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
How many meanings does “garbage” have?
“Garbage” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: waste material, especially food scraps and household rubbish, thrown away as useless.
What is the difference between garbage and trash?
In American English garbage and trash are often used interchangeably for waste thrown away as useless. Traditionally garbage refers more to food scraps and wet kitchen waste, while trash refers more to dry rubbish such as paper and packaging.
What is the difference between garbage and rubbish?
Garbage is chiefly American English, while rubbish is the usual British English word for household waste. Both refer to waste material thrown away as useless, and both can also mean nonsense.
Can garbage be used to describe poor quality or nonsense?
Yes, informally garbage means nonsense or something of very poor quality, as in "that argument is garbage" or "the film was garbage." In this sense it is a dismissive term rather than a reference to physical waste.
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