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garbage

n. uncountable
A2 Elementary US //ˈɡɑɹbɪdʒ// UK //ɡˈɑːbɪdʒ// garbage Archaic Dialect Informal Slang

n. waste material that you throw away because it is no longer useful. It can also mean something that is very low quality or not true.

n. discarded or useless material; refuse. Often used figuratively to describe low-quality information, ideas, or performance.


SIMPLE

Please take the garbage out to the bin.

CONTEXTUAL

The city collects the garbage every Tuesday morning to keep the streets clean and sanitary.

COMPLEX

Critics dismissed the film as absolute garbage, citing its weak plot and uninspired performances as evidence of a rushed production.

Synonyms
Origin

From late Middle English garbage (“the offal of a fowl, giblets, kitchen waste”, originally “refuse, what is purged away”), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French garber (“to refine, make neat or clean”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *garwijan (“to make ready”). Akin to Old High German garawan (“to prepare, make ready”), Old English ġearwian (“to make ready, adorn”). More at garb, yare, gear

Usage

Primarily North American English; 'rubbish' is the standard equivalent in British English.

Pitfall

He threw away many garbages.He threw away a lot of garbage.Garbage is uncountable and does not have a plural form.

Idioms1 entry

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