landfill
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a large hole or area of land where a city's rubbish is buried under layers of earth.
n.a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial under layers of soil.
Simple“The city is running out of space in its local landfill for all the plastic waste.”
In context“Environmental engineers are monitoring the landfill for methane emissions and potential groundwater contamination from decomposing organic matter.”
Synonymsdumprubbish tipAntonymsrecycling centre - 02 C1 Advanced
n.the actual rubbish that is sent to be buried.
n.waste material that is destined for or has been disposed of in a burial site. Uncountable in this sense.
Simple“We need to reduce the amount of landfill we produce every year.”
In context“The new government policy aims to divert at least sixty percent of household landfill into composting and recycling streams.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to get rid of rubbish by burying it in a large hole in the ground.
v.to dispose of waste by burying it in a landfill site. Transitive — takes a direct object.
Simple“It is much cheaper to landfill waste than to process it for recycling.”
In context“The municipality decided to landfill the non-hazardous industrial byproducts rather than investing in a costly high-temperature incineration facility.”
“A plastic fork used for five minutes could last more than 500 years in a landfill.”
“About 79% is sent to landfills, while another 12% is burned, a practice that releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”
From land + fill. Compare spillway.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.