garbage

noun

gar·​bage ˈgär-bij 

1

a

: food waste

b

: discarded or useless material

2

a

: trash sense 1b

b

: inaccurate or useless data

Synonyms of garbage

• trash
• debris
• rubbish
• junk
• dust
• litter
• sewage
• truck

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

As a result, products like disposable cutlery, bottled drinks and garbage bags could be among the first to rise in the coming weeks, said Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University. —Julian Torres, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2026

Richter and Henke said the best way to avoid confrontations with coyotes is to eliminate food sources, whether by not feeding them directly, bringing pet food indoors or securing garbage. —Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 26 Mar. 2026

No matter how advanced the algorithm, garbage data in means garbage results out, just with a more polished interface. —Matt Emma, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026

Unfortunately, the garbage that RFK spewed during his time as a private sector anti-vaccine crusader and is now trying to make government policy has had vaccine skepticism growing nationwide, with deadly consequences. —Arkansas Online, 23 Mar. 2026

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

Phrases Containing garbage

• a lot of garbage/nonsense
• garbage can
• garbage disposal
• garbage time
• garbage truck

Kids Definition

garbage

noun

gar·​bage ˈgär-bij 

1

: food waste

2

: discarded or useless material : refuse

3

: something inferior, worthless, or useless

a show that's garbage