garbage

noun

gar·​bage ˈgär-bij How to pronounce garbage (audio)
1
a
: food waste
b
: discarded or useless material
2
b
: inaccurate or useless data

Examples of garbage in a Sentence

The park was littered with garbage. Please take out the garbage. Raccoons were going through the garbage. Throw the can in the garbage. If you ask me, what he said is a bunch of garbage.
Recent Examples on the Web More:Harris breaks with Biden over 'garbage' comment about Trump's supporters after reluctance to distance herself More:Trump pounces on Biden's 'garbage' comment. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024 That didn’t stop the former president from leaning into the gaffe by donning a garbage worker vest and climbing into a garbage truck to speak with the media at a campaign event earlier this week. Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 1 Nov. 2024 Trump seeks to press advantage from Biden’s ‘garbage’ gaffe. Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 31 Oct. 2024 Politics Did Biden mean to call Trump supporters ‘garbage,’ or just stumble defending Puerto Rico? Oct. 30, 2024 California’s need for federal disaster assistance over the next four years is virtually guaranteed. Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for garbage 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'garbage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "poultry organs and body parts used for food, poultry refuse," borrowed from Anglo-French *garbage (implied in sergant garbagere "kitchen servant tasked with plucking and cleaning poultry"), of obscure origin

Note: On morphological, semantic, or chronological grounds unlikely to be related to Anglo-French garbeler, Middle English garbelen "to remove (impurities) from spices" (see garble entry 1) or to Middle French gaburge, grabuge "quarrel, brawl." The Anglo-French collocation sergant garbagere indicates currency of the word as early as 1318 (Household Ordinances of Edward II).

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of garbage was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near garbage

Cite this Entry

“Garbage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garbage. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

garbage

noun
gar·​bage ˈgär-bij How to pronounce garbage (audio)
1
: food waste
2
: discarded or useless material : refuse
3
: something inferior, worthless, or useless
a show that's garbage

More from Merriam-Webster on garbage

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