noun
garbo
Garbo (noun) means Australian informal term for a garbage collector. Example: “The garbo comes round every Thursday morning.”
noun
1
Australian informal term for a garbage collector.
"The referendum papers, accompanied by a strong statement of Council′s position, was to be letterboxed by the Council′s “garbos” (rubbish collectors) and inspectors on a Thursday and collected by volunteers over the weekend."
— Hall Greenland, Red Hot: The Life & Times of Nick Origlass (1998)
"Then believe it or not, I worked for some time as a garbo, collecting the rubbish in the wee hours of the morning."
— Emily George, Merri Lee: A Feminist Fantasy (1986)
"The garbo comes round every Thursday morning."
"The priest would bring salvation while the garbo took the rubbish."
— Adam Shand, The Skull: Informers (2010)
How to use garbo
Learner’s notes
When to use it
Australian and New Zealand slang; casual/informal register.
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Word forms
- Plural
- garbos
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The _____ comes round every Thursday morning.
Etymology
A shortening of "garbage" with the informal Australian "-o" ending, as in "arvo" or "servo."
Synonyms
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Frequently asked questions
What does “garbo” mean?
The word “garbo” means australian informal term for a garbage collector.
How do you use “garbo” in a sentence?
Here is “garbo” used in a sentence: “The garbo comes round every Thursday morning.”
What is another word for “garbo”?
Words with a similar meaning to “garbo” include bin man, dustman, garbage collector, garbage man, refuse collector and sanitation engineer.
What part of speech is “garbo”?
“Garbo” is a noun.
