wastebasket

noun

waste·​bas·​ket ˈwās(t)-ˌba-skət How to pronounce wastebasket (audio)
: a receptacle for refuse and especially for wastepaper

called also wastepaper basket

Examples of wastebasket in a Sentence

She tossed the wrapper into the wastebasket.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
In a 1988 promotional ad for WXYZ-TV’s weathercasters, Jerry Hodak threw a crumpled piece of paper over his shoulder, which Rob Kress caught in a wastebasket without even looking away from his desk. Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 19 Oct. 2024 There’s another issue in 205, something about an overflowing wastebasket. Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 10 Oct. 2024 For added freshness, soak a cotton round in drops of your favorite essential oil before replacing the garbage bag in your wastebasket. Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 17 Aug. 2024 The Architect’s Classroom features stools that raise and lower, adjustable drafting tables and a wastebasket unfathomably made up of 1,020 solder joints. Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 28 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for wastebasket 

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wastebasket was in 1850

Dictionary Entries Near wastebasket

Cite this Entry

“Wastebasket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wastebasket. Accessed 12 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

wastebasket

noun
waste·​bas·​ket ˈwās(t)-ˌbas-kət How to pronounce wastebasket (audio)
: an open container for trash and especially wastepaper

More from Merriam-Webster on wastebasket

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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