wastenoun
uk/weɪst/us/weɪst/waste noun (BAD USE)
B1 [ S or U ] an unnecessary or wrong use of money, substances, time, energy, abilities, etc.:
to not be used, eaten, etc.:
More examples
- What a complete waste of time!
- It is the height of folly and a tragic waste to gallop into war.
- This report is nonsense and nothing but a waste of paper.
- Buying that sports car was a sinful waste of money.
- The conference was a monumental waste of time.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Wasting
- boondoggle
- dissipate
- down the drain idiom
- fritter
- fritter sth away
- lose
- piss sth away
- prodigal
- profligate
- reinvent
- reinvent the wheel idiom
- throw
- toss
- toss sth away
- uneconomic
- wastage
- waste not, want not idiom
- wasted
- wasteful
- waster
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waste noun (UNWANTED MATTER)
B1 [ C or U ] unwanted matter or material of any type, especially what is left after useful substances or parts have been removed:
More examples
- The government is having difficulty finding a safe depository for nuclear waste.
- Most people do not want this country to become a dumping ground for toxic waste.
- She makes a big profit from selling waste material to textile companies.
- Liquid and solid waste is collected in the tank.
- The Japanese recycle more than half their waste paper.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Rubbish and waste
- debris
- detritus
- dross
- effluent
- flotsam
- jetsam
- jumble
- kitsch
- litter
- recycle
- refuse
- rubbish
- rubble
- scrap
- scrap heap
- spoil
- tat
- upcycle
- upcycling
- waste product
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waste noun (EMPTY GROUND)
an area of ground in or near a city that is not built on or used in any way:
large areas of land that are not used to grow crops and have few living animals or plants:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Geography: deserts, prairies & wildernesses
- bush
- Bushman
- common
- desert
- dust bowl
- marginal land
- moor
- moorland
- pampas
- pasture
- plain
- scrub
- steppe
- sward
- tall-grass prairie
- the outback
- tundra
- undeveloped
- wasteland
- wild
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Idiom(s)
wasteverb [ T ]
uk/weɪst/us/weɪst/waste verb [ T ] (USE BADLY)
B1 to use too much of something or use something badly when there is a limited amount of it:
More examples
- The way we waste this planet's resources is criminal.
- A lot of water is wasted through leakage.
- We have to change the public's perception that money is being wasted.
- If you'd got on with your work instead of wasting time chatting, you'd be finished by now.
- Have some more vegetables - it would be a shame to waste them.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Wasting
- boondoggle
- dissipate
- down the drain idiom
- fritter
- fritter sth away
- lose
- piss sth away
- prodigal
- profligate
- reinvent
- reinvent the wheel idiom
- throw
- toss
- toss sth away
- uneconomic
- wastage
- waste not, want not idiom
- wasted
- wasteful
- waster
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waste verb [ T ] (KILL)
US slang to kill someone
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Murder & attempted murder
- assassinate
- assassination
- attempt
- blow sb away
- blow sb's brains out idiom
- butcher
- dispatch
- lynch
- lynch law
- manslaughter
- martyr
- martyred
- necklace
- poison
- shoot sb down
- slain
- slay
- slaying
- slew 1
- throttle
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