trash

[ trash ]

noun

1. anything worthless, useless, or discarded; rubbish.
2. foolish or pointless ideas, talk, or writing; nonsense.
3. a worthless or disreputable person.
4. such persons collectively.
5. literary or artistic material of poor or inferior quality.

   Synonyms: tripe, rubbish, twaddle, hogwash, rot, drivel

6. broken or torn bits, as twigs, splinters, rags, or the like.
7. something that is broken or lopped off from anything in preparing it for use.
8. the refuse of sugarcane after the juice has been expressed.
9. Computers. an icon of a trash can that is used to delete files dragged onto it.

verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to destroy, damage, or vandalize, as in anger or protest:

   The slovenly renters had trashed the house.

2. to condemn, dismiss, or criticize as worthless:

   The article trashed several recent best-sellers.

3. to remove the outer leaves of (a growing sugarcane plant).
4. to free from superfluous twigs or branches.

trash

¹

/ træʃ /

verb

1. tr to restrain with or as if with a lead

noun

1. a lead for a dog

trash

²

/ træʃ /

noun

1. foolish ideas or talk; nonsense
2. useless or unwanted matter or objects
3. a literary or artistic production of poor quality
4. a poor or worthless person or a group of such people
5. bits that are broken or lopped off, esp the trimmings from trees or plants
6. the dry remains of sugar cane after the juice has been extracted

verb

1. to remove the outer leaves and branches from (growing plants, esp sugar cane)
2. slang.
   to attack or destroy (someone or something) wilfully or maliciously

Derived Forms

• ˈtrashery, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trash¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English trasches (plural), apparently cognate with Norwegian trask “rubbish”; akin to Old English trus “brushwood,” Old Norse tros “rubbish”

Word History and Origins

Origin of trash¹

C17: perhaps from obsolete French tracier to track, trace ¹

Origin of trash²

C16: of obscure origin; perhaps related to Norwegian trask

Example Sentences

On Santa Clara Street, city crews swept in Nov. 1 to clear out tents, belongings and piles of trash.

From Los Angeles Times

They also say the lands aren’t being adequately protected from those seeking to pillage natural resources and visitors who trash sacred sites.

From Los Angeles Times

They calculated how many fewer single-use grocery bags consumers would need to use to offset the additional trash bags purchased due to the policy.

From Science Daily

Go to your kitchen, grab your black spatula and throw it in the trash.

From Los Angeles Times

That came after the two countries engaged in a tit-for-tat balloon campaign, flying thousands of trash and propaganda balloons towards each other’s territories.

From BBC

Related Words

• debris
• droppings
• junk
• litter
• residue
• rubbish
• rubble
• sediment
• waste