bin

1 of 4

noun (1)

plural bins
1
: a box, frame, crib, or enclosed place used for storage
2
chiefly British : a can for trash or garbage : dustbin
The woman retreated to a desk, dropping the leaflets in the bin as though she couldn't bear to hold them anymore.Denise Mina

bin

2 of 4

verb

binned; binning

transitive verb

: to put into a bin

BIN

3 of 4

noun (2)

linguistics
: the verb form been used with spoken emphasis in African American English to indicate that something (such as an event or state) happened or existed in the remote past or that it began in the remote past and is still ongoing : stressed bin
BIN, which is stressed, situates an eventuality or some part of it in the remote past. It has been shown that developing AAL-speaking children also produce BIN in spontaneous speech and interpret it as a marker that refers to the distant past.Lisa Green and Tracy Conner

Note: BIN frequently precedes perfect (see perfect entry 1 sense 5) verb forms, as well as progressive (see progressive entry 1 sense 7) verb forms ending in -ing. It can also precede the African American English feature perfective done, additional predicates (such as nouns, adjectives, and prepositional phrases), and, in certain contexts, adverbial phrases.

bin-

4 of 4

prefix

: bi- entry 1
binaural

Examples of bin in a Sentence

Noun (1) Put the old newspapers in the recycling bin. a storage bin for hats and gloves
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Keep in Mind One of the clear bins arrived chipped and the price seems high for a metal system. Brittany Vanderbill, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2025 One renter in a one-bedroom in a pricey new Carroll Street building stuffed the vestibule outside her apartment with a shelving system to contain dozens of shoes and a foam roller, while lining the stairwell leading to the roof with a tower of plastic bins and suitcases, a folding chair, and bags. Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 19 Mar. 2025
Verb
While some commenters on Instagram expressed surprise at the idea of wearing retainers indefinitely or stories about how their own teeth have stayed aligned despite binning their retainers years ago, others shared their experiences of teeth shifting after discontinuing use. Mark Joseph, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025 Three months ago, United hiked ticket prices for home games this season to £66, binning concessionary categories in the process. Phil Hay, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bin

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English binn, from Old English

Prefix

Middle English, from Late Latin, from Latin bini two by two; akin to Old English twinn twofold — more at twin

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1839, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bin was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bin. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

bin

noun
ˈbin
: a box, frame, or enclosed place for storage

More from Merriam-Webster on bin

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