garbage

noun

gar·​bage ˈgär-bij 

1

a

: food waste

b

: discarded or useless material

2

a

: trash sense 1b

b

: inaccurate or useless data

Synonyms of garbage

• trash
• debris
• rubbish
• junk
• dust
• litter
• sewage
• truck

Examples of garbage in a Sentence

The park was littered with garbage.

Please take out the garbage.

Raccoons were going through the garbage.

Throw the can in the garbage.

If you ask me, what he said is a bunch of garbage.

Recent Examples on the Web

Limon’s body was found in a garbage bag, officials said. —Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 May 2026

The plan calls for rethinking the way the county’s two million residents separate and dispose of their trash, along with what happens to it once it’s hauled away in garbage and recycling trucks. —Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 2 May 2026

The body of her friend, fellow USF doctoral student Zamil Limon, was in another garbage bag that was found two days before that on a bridge over the bay. —Mike Schneider, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

But what has always separated Madge from reams of cheap rave garbage is exquisite taste and sheer star power. —Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 1 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "poultry organs and body parts used for food, poultry refuse," borrowed from Anglo-French *garbage (implied in sergant garbagere "kitchen servant tasked with plucking and cleaning poultry"), of obscure origin

Note: On morphological, semantic, or chronological grounds unlikely to be related to Anglo-French garbeler, Middle English garbelen "to remove (impurities) from spices" (see garble entry 1) or to Middle French gaburge, grabuge "quarrel, brawl." The Anglo-French collocation sergant garbagere indicates currency of the word as early as 1318 (Household Ordinances of Edward II).

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing garbage

• a lot of garbage/nonsense
• garbage can
• garbage disposal
• garbage time
• garbage truck

Kids Definition

garbage

noun

gar·​bage ˈgär-bij 

1

: food waste

2

: discarded or useless material : refuse

3

: something inferior, worthless, or useless

a show that's garbage