waste

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Excess of material, useless by-products, or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
2. (countable, uncountable) Excrement or urine.
3. (countable, uncountable) A wasteland; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.
4. (countable, uncountable) A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.
5. (countable, uncountable) A large tract of uncultivated land.
6. (countable, historical, uncountable) The part of the land of a manor (of whatever size) not used for cultivation or grazing, nowadays treated as common land.
7. (countable, uncountable) A vast expanse of water.
8. (countable, uncountable) A disused mine or part of one.
9. (countable, uncountable) The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.
10. (countable, uncountable) Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.
11. (countable, uncountable) Gradual loss or decay.
12. (countable, uncountable) A decaying of the body by disease; atrophy; wasting away.
13. (countable, rare, uncountable) Destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; see "to lay waste".
14. (countable, uncountable) A cause of action which may be brought by the owner of a future interest in property against the current owner of that property to prevent the current owner from degrading the value or character of the property, either intentionally or through neglect.
15. (countable, uncountable) Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea.

Adj

Useless and contemptible.

Adj

1. (archaic) Uncultivated, uninhabited.
2. Barren; desert; empty.
3. Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.
4. Superfluous; needless.
5. Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
6. Unfortunate; disappointing.

Verb

1. (transitive) To devastate; to destroy.
2. (transitive) To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly; to dissipate.
3. (slang, transitive) To kill; to murder.
4. (transitive) To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to deteriorate; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.
5. (intransitive) To gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
6. (intransitive) To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.
7. To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/weɪst/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wast

Cognate with Old High German: wuosti

Cognate with German: wüst

Cognate with Old Saxon: wōsti

Cognate with Old English: wēste

Inherited from Middle English: wasten

Cognate with French: gâter

Cognate with Middle English: westen

Cognate with English: weest

Cognate with Old High German: wuostan

Cognate with German: wüsten

Cognate with Old English: wēstan

In summary

From Middle English wast, waste (“a waste”, noun), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast, waste (“a waste”), from Frankish *wōstī (“a waste”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstaz, *wōstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty, wasted”).

Synonyms

squander

garbage

🗑️

rubbish

loss

refuse

trash

destroy

spend

spoil

squandering

dissipate

consume

damage

desert

🏜️

lose

ruin

scrap

extravagance

wastefulness

use up

debris

wasteland

devastate

ravage

kill

🔪🩸👤

decay

barren

dissipation

lavish

desolate

spoilage

litter

leftovers

wastage

wild

eliminate

useless

wilderness

misuse

dregs

wasteful

diminish

destruction

do in

junk

injury

knock off

wasting

exhaust

emaciate

Translations

gaspiller

verschwenden

Abfall

sprecare

vergeuden

Müll

spreco

desperdiciar

malgastar

gaspillage

Verschwendung

verkwisten

basura

déchet

lixo

🗑️

Sentences

They certainly did not waste it either .

Fly by night and you waste little time .

There may also be pollution control or waste treatment facilities or equipment .

The rainforests are depleted , we turned the planet into a waste ground .