take out the trash
To forcefully remove undesirable people from a place.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The manager had to take out the trash and fire the lazy employees.”
“The new team leader decided to take out the trash by removing the staff members who were constantly causing problems.”
“After years of corruption within the department, the director finally took out the trash to restore order and professional standards.”
- 01
be taken ill
To become ill.
- 02
cross to take up
Alternative form of cross to bear.
- 03
forget to take one's medication this morning
To be annoyed or irritable, or to behave in an ill-mannered way, particularly in the morning.
- 04
get taken in
To be fooled; to fall for.
- 05
give and take
A process of compromise or accommodation.
- 06
give someone an inch and someone will take a mile
Alternative form of give them an inch and they'll take a mile.
- 07
have one's name taken
To receive a yellow card.
- 08
I take it
Used to express one's understanding of another's position.
Last updated August 10, 2026