rubbish

noun

ˈrə-bish How to pronounce rubbish (audio)
Definition of rubbishnext
1
as in garbage
discarded or useless material it's illegal to throw rubbish out of your car on the highway

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in junk
that which is of low quality or worth regarded most romance novels as the lowest form of literary rubbish

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense you're obviously no economist because what you're saying is absolute rubbish

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of rubbish Residents can bring bulk waste, yard waste, recycling and extra rubbish to the city’s four Drop-Off Station locations. — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Jan. 2025 View 6 Images Unlike cats, our vision is pretty rubbish in very low light conditions. — Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 17 Jan. 2025 On the evening of January 14, a woman was arrested after allegedly setting multiple piles of rubbish and trash on fire, Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said at a news conference last week. — Zoe Sottile, CNN, 21 Jan. 2025 Combine principles with experience Anyone can send out glib; motivational rubbish based on principles. — Jodie Cook, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rubbish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbish
  1. garbage
  2. junk
  3. nonsense
  4. debris
  5. cheese
  6. nuts
  7. trash
  8. blah
Noun
  • Lira, remembering the garbage, quickly takes out the trash.
    — Cindy Carcamo, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Leave the garbage can open and place it in the sun to fully dry before closing it or putting a garbage bag in it.
    — Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Mar. 2025
Definition of garbage
Noun
  • For a piece in this week’s issue, Helfand speaks with all parties involved, and even visits Elvis in his current resting place, amid dusty knickknacks and towering piles of junk in an office behind a mechanic’s garage.
    — Hannah Jocelyn, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2025
  • When the children got older [my eldest is now 38], trying to find convenient snacks that weren't full of all kinds of junk was challenging.
    — Carly Mallenbaum, Axios, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of junk
Noun
  • Describing the plot as utter nonsense would both be 100 percent correct and likely taken as a massive compliment for all involved.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Putin has repeatedly dismissed as nonsense Western claims that Russia could one day attack a NATO member.
    — Reuters, NBC News, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of nonsense
Noun
  • The building, a five-story apartment complex located in the southern Italian city of Bari, collapsed on Wednesday, March 5 — trapping a woman, 74, beneath the debris, Wanted in Rome — an English magazine for expats in Italy — reports, citing Italian outlet ANSA.
    — Rachel Raposas, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Within seconds the tornado struck, with debris crashing on to the studio's roof.
    — Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of debris
Noun
  • French Champagne and Italian Parmigiano cheese stand to lose if fresh tariffs are imposed.
    — Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Just about everything that can be is made in-house or sourced locally, from the bread by Wild Crafted to pimiento cheese by Nana’s Porch, Joyce Farms chicken, Urban Gourmet mushrooms and local NC oysters (when in season).
    — Sunny Hubler, Charlotte Observer, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of cheese
Noun
  • The property also grows its own herbs, greens, nuts, berries, and edible flowers.
    — Bianca Salonga, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Focus on whole foods like fruits, leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.
    — Lindsay Curtis, Health, 5 Jan. 2025
Definition of nuts
Noun
  • The infant’s body was found in a car seat behind a trash bin in the city of Bellflower, according to previous Bee reporting.
    — Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The El Gigante rock shelter itself is more than 120 feet wide and 55 feet deep, and contains trash piles left by its former residents that span the last 11,000 years.
    — GrrlScientist, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of trash
Noun
  • American Airlines is giving Midwesterners a new way to escape the winter blahs.
    — Brandon Withrow, Travel + Leisure, 20 Feb. 2025
  • The post-election blahs are endemic across the big three cable news outlets, but the viewership numbers of individual networks can drop farther when the candidate seen as their ideological opposite wins.
    — Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Dec. 2024
Definition of blah

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“Rubbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbish. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on rubbish

Nglish: Translation of rubbish for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rubbish

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