waste

UK /weɪst/ US /weɪst/

adj 6noun 5verb 5

Definitions

noun

Excess of material, useless by-products, or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.

Excrement or urine.

The cage was littered with animal waste.

A wasteland; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.

We went down accordingly into the waste, and began to make our toilsome and devious travel towards the eastern verge.

The pampas of Argentina and the chilly wastes of Patagonia, like the prairies and deserts of North America, were largely shunned by Spanish settlers until the 1870s.

A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.

A large tract of uncultivated land.

adj

Useless and contemptible.

Niggas moves so waste / Please, come outside the house and show yourself / So I can say it to your face

Waste / Don't talk to me / You're so waste

adj

Uncultivated, uninhabited.

SOo whanne syr Galahad was departed from the castel of maydens / he rode tyl he came to a waste forest / & there he mette with syre launcelot and syr Percyuale but they knewe hym not / for he was newe desguysed / Ryghte so syr launcelot his fader dressid his spere and brake it vpon syr Galahad

Barren; desert; empty.

‘The stars,’ she whispers, ‘blindly run; ⁠A web is wov’n across the sky; ⁠From out waste places comes a cry, And murmurs from the dying sun: […]

For centuries the shrine at Mecca had been of merely local importance, far outshone by the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, whose cult Christians had in good measure renewed by their pilgrimage in honour of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, while leaving the actual site of the Jerusalem Temple dishonoured and waste.

Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.

Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.

Superfluous; needless.

Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.

the savage Baron's heart[…] became appalled as he gazed forward into the waste darkness of futurity.

Collocations

(noun.) missing an opportunity to do/use sth

ADJ

absolute, complete, total, utter

Going to that meeting was an absolute waste of my afternoon.

colossal, great, tremendous

awful, criminal, senseless, shocking, terrible

It would be senseless waste to throw away perfectly good clothes when you could donate them.

needless, unnecessary, useless

tragic

It was tragic waste to throw away so much food when people were hungry.

expensive

conspicuous

VERB + WASTE

go to

We threw out the leftover paint because we didn't want it to go to waste.

cause

avoid

We need to avoid waste in the kitchen by using leftovers properly.

cut down on, reduce

minimize

PREP

~ of

Throwing away perfectly good food is such a waste of money.

(noun.) unwanted substances/things

ADJ

dangerous, harmful, hazardous, poisonous, toxic

The factory was fined for dumping toxic waste into the river.

non-toxic

high-level, intermediate-level, low-level

recyclable

agricultural, commercial, industrial

domestic, household, kitchen

The city has a new plan to recycle more domestic waste from homes.

clinical, hospital, medical

nuclear, radioactive

chemical

plastic

organic

animal, human

garden, plant

municipal

liquid, solid

food, energy

VERB + WASTE

produce

The factory produces tons of waste that gets sent to the landfill every week.

dispose of, dump, get rid of

The factory had to dispose of its chemical waste safely before closing down.

clean up

The city spent millions to clean up industrial waste from the old factory site.

burn, incinerate

The factory had to incinerate tons of industrial waste every month to stay compliant with regulations.

bury, store

process, treat

The factory must treat industrial waste properly before releasing it into the river.

recycle, reprocess

deal with, handle, manage

The city hired a new company to handle waste more efficiently.

cut down on, reduce

eliminate

export, import

Many developed nations import waste from poorer countries to process in their factories.

WASTE + VERB

contaminate sth, pollute sth

Heavy metals in factory waste polluted the river for several miles downstream.

WASTE + NOUN

collection

burial, disposal, incineration

storage

processing, recycling, reprocessing, treatment

The city built a new waste processing facility to handle garbage from thousands of homes.

management

minimization, reduction

bin

dump, site, tip

The city opened a new waste tip on the outskirts to handle daily garbage from local businesses.

outlet, pipe

imports

Many developing countries have protested against waste imports from wealthy nations.

(noun.) wastes: areas of ground not lived in or cultivated

ADJ

frozen, icy

Explorers struggled to survive in the icy wastes during their Arctic expedition.

(verb.)

ADV

(not) entirely, (not) totally

His time studying for the exam was not entirely wasted because he learned some useful skills.

just, simply

He's simply wasting time playing video games instead of studying for his exam.

largely

VERB + WASTE

can't afford to, not want to

She can't afford to waste money on expensive coffee when she's saving for a car.

be/seem a shame to

It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful opportunity.

not be going to

They decided they weren't going to waste money on expensive decorations for the party.

PREP

She regrets wasting so much time on social media instead of studying.

PHRASES

no time to waste

We need to finish this project today because we have no time to waste.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — useless or profitless activity

wastefulness
dissipation

noun — the trait of wasting resources

thriftlessness
wastefulness

noun — an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation

verb — become physically weaker

verb — cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly

verb — cause to grow thin or weak

verb — lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief

languish

verb — spend extravagantly

verb — get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing

verb — spend thoughtlessly

adjective — located in a dismal or remote area

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

waste away

To lose energy or become weak and feeble.

She watched him waste away from lack of food or exercise.

haste makes waste

Being too hasty leads to wasteful mistakes.

waste of space

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see waste, of, space.

Putting a third sofa in here would be a waste of space since we never have that many guests.

waste not, want not

If one is not wasteful then one will not be in need.

Besides these, there were some little pleasures in the shape of helping her to vegetable she didn't want, and when it had nearly alighted on her plate, taking it across for his own

waste breath

To speak in a manner which is needless or futile; in discussion or argument to make points which are not appreciated or heeded.

Middleton and Paul saw no use in wasting their breath in remonstrances against this proposal.

Example Bank

The cage was littered with animal waste.

Wiktionary

We went down accordingly into the waste, and began to make our toilsome and devious travel towards the eastern verge.

Wiktionary

The pampas of Argentina and the chilly wastes of Patagonia, like the prairies and deserts of North America, were largely shunned by Spanish settlers until the 1870s.

Wiktionary

Niggas moves so waste / Please, come outside the house and show yourself / So I can say it to your face

Wiktionary

Waste / Don't talk to me / You're so waste

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, waste is marked as derogatory, slang, archaic. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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