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
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.
The juvenile was white with brownish brindle patches around each eye and found in a garbage bag. Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 17 Dec. 2024 While Dogtown's hot dog menu is immense, Basile said garbage plates are always a top seller. Angelica Stabile, Fox News, 10 Dec. 2024 The body of a 40-year-old woman was found in a garbage cart on Monday morning about 10:40 a.m., said the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office in media releases this week. David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 4 Dec. 2024 Not to be the bearers of bad news, but your garbage disposal isn’t as good at disposing of garbage as the name implies. Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 7 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for garbage 

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 23 Dec. 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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