WordGarden.iogarbage
A1Pronunciation
UK
- /ɡˈɑːbɪdʒ/
US
- /ˈɡɑrbɪdʒ/
Meanings
Noun
discarded waste or trash
something judged worthless or very poor in quality
nonsensical or false talk or writing
More meaningsFewer meanings
unwanted or unusable data in a computer system
an offensive derogatory term for a contemptible or worthless person
Beyond the definition
"Garbage" is not just the smelly stuff you throw away. It can refer to anything seen as useless or of poor quality, from banana peels in a bin to a very bad poem. Usually, it means waste that is meant to be thrown out, but people also use it for nonsense or something they strongly dislike. A terrible idea, a weak excuse, or a badly made movie might all be called "garbage." The word first referred to unwanted animal parts left over after butchering, and later came to mean everyday household waste.
The word "garbage" most commonly refers to waste material, things we throw away because they are no longer useful. This includes typical household trash, like leftover food, packaging, and broken items. You might take out the garbage on Tuesday morning or see a garbage truck rumbling down your street. However, "garbage" has expanded far beyond physical waste.
It is also often used figuratively to describe something of poor quality or little value. A badly made movie could be dismissed as "absolute garbage," and a weak excuse might be called "a load of garbage." In some varieties of English, you can even talk garbage, meaning to speak nonsense, lie, or boast in an empty way (for example, "Don't listen to him; he's just talking garbage").
The term also appears in specific technical and household contexts. A "garbage disposal" is the kitchen appliance under the sink that grinds up food waste. In computer science, "garbage collection" is the automatic process in which a system reclaims memory that a program is no longer using.
Whether it means overflowing bins, poor arguments, or automatic data management, "garbage" points to something unwanted, worthless, or in need of removal, both literally and figuratively. It shows how one everyday word can cover physical waste, careless speech, and even technical processes.
Examples
- 1
Household chore
Please take the garbage out before dinner.
- 2
Collection service
The garbage truck wakes us up every Monday morning.
- 3
Trash container
She tossed the broken plates into the garbage.
- 4
Negative opinion
I watched ten minutes of the movie and decided it was garbage.
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Nonsense speech
Ignore him. He's just talking garbage.
- Phrasetalking garbage
saying silly or untrue things
- 6
Bad data
The system made bad predictions because it was trained on garbage data.
- 7
Programming saying
In programming, people often say, "garbage in, garbage out."
- Phrasegarbage in, garbage out
bad input produces bad results
See also
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- garbagenoun