dumpster fire

noun

variants or less commonly Dumpster fire

US, informal

: an utterly calamitous or mismanaged situation or occurrence : disaster

Reese and McAdoo take the fall for what has been a dumpster fire of a season, one which has them at 2-10 on the season, and in line for one of the top two picks in the 2018 NFL Draft.

—James Kratch

So while 2017 has been, by many measures, a complete dumpster fire of a year, New Yorkers can at the very least take refuge in the fact that their city is becoming an even safer place to live.

—Clayton Guse

Examples of dumpster fire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The last four years were a dumpster fire—a total disaster. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025

Think dumpster fires, car fires and people burning garbage in alleys. —Laura Paddison, CNN, 3 Feb. 2025

Wood brought video of him riding in a fire truck, putting out a dumpster fire, and generally living the dream. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2025

And would the evening acknowledge the world outside Hollywood — that is to say, the world outside the picture business — in this year of fires and dumpster fires? —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2006, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dumpster fire

• acquire
• attire
• bonfire
• campfire
• ceasefire
• conspire
• desire
• enquire
• entire
• greenbrier
• gunfire
• homebuyer