garbage

noun

ˈgär-bij How to pronounce garbage (audio)
Definition of garbagenext
1
as in trash
discarded or useless material the stray dogs were looking for leftover food in the family's garbage

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense she was just talking garbage when she said that she was taking a loss on the sale of the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of garbage The National Park Service specifically warns visitors in the Smoky Mountains to lock their vehicles and not to leave food, garbage or other scented items inside. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026 Beachgoers found large amounts of garbage strewn across the water's edge Saturday. — Nick Caloway, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 According to the criminal complaint, Royce Moser told investigators his mother put the knife in a trash bag and put it in the garbage outside the home and also put his clothes in the washing machine. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026 Just mountains of garbage to wade through only to never find anything decent to watch. — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for garbage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for garbage
  1. trash
  2. nonsense
  3. debris
  4. rubbish
  5. junk
  6. nuts
  7. dust
  8. blah
Noun
  • To paraphrase Tolstoy, all slop is alike, but every piece of trash is trashy in its own oddball way.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Four months later, he was seen last weekend walking dogs, taking walks, enjoying a cup of coffee in a garage, and even stopping to sift through neighborhood trash items on the side of the street.
    — Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of trash
Noun
  • Statham, who turned 59 this summer and is still in incredible shape, performs on his usual high-octane, no-time-for-nonsense level.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The nonsense began last year as a stunt tied to a cryptocurrency group, but more recently has been linked to groups protesting league policies.
    — Greg Cote August 23, Miami Herald, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of nonsense
Noun
  • Chinese surveillance footage from the Tibetan side of the border shows a huge wall of mud and debris crashing over buildings and engulfing roads as people desperately try to flee the torrent.
    — Diaa Hadid, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
  • An ice and rock avalanche from a high-altitude glacier may have triggered the flooding, with a large volume of debris entering the Lende Khola tributary, researchers have said in a preliminary assessment.
    — Josh Feldman, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of debris
Noun
  • This comes at the expense of no movement in the wrist, but to be fair, having the lightsaber pointed in any other direction would look rubbish.
    — Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • Only construction waste will be accepted at the landfill such as, brush and rubbish, concrete, brick, rock, wood, paper, plastics, cardboard and roofing shingles and tiles.
    — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 July 2026
Definition of rubbish
Noun
  • With the Bombers’ bullpen depleted, the junk-balling lefty didn’t allow a baserunner while recording a three-inning save after Cole hit the showers.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Carlyle pitched itself as a local hero in contrast to New York hustlers and greenmailers, replacing its backing from Drexel Burnham’s junk-bond king, Michael Milken, with money from blue-chip names like the Mellon family.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of junk
Noun
  • White suggests nuts, popcorn, bite-size desserts, cheese boards, or, of course, nostalgic candy.
    — Heather Bien, Southern Living, 29 Aug. 2026
  • This is an uncomplicated yarn about a man prying open his heart and nudging other hard nuts to do the same.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of nuts
Noun
  • Once the novelty wore off, many ended up in storerooms gathering dust.
    — Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • This is because the material that serves as the building blocks for planets is constantly escaping the swirling platters of gas and dust, or protoplanetary disks, that wrap around infant stars.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of dust
Noun
  • There's been some good, but, generally, it's just been sort of blah.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • That’s where all the problems come from—the shrinkage, the color, blah, blah, blah.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of blah

Browse Nearby Words

garb
garbage
garbed
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Cite this Entry

“Garbage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/garbage. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on garbage

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about garbage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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