What does "trash" mean?
Useless physical things to be discarded; rubbish; refuse.
Trash
/tɹæʃ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Useless physical things to be discarded; rubbish; refuse.
- Grammar: trash is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: rubbish, garbage, junk, absurdity.
- Useful contrasts: genuine gold, commend, jewel.
- Usage evidence: There's no use for plastic supermarket bags aside from putting trash in them.
How to use "trash"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trash" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "trash" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "trash" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "trash" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "trash" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "rubbish" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "trash", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Useless physical things to be discarded; rubbish; refuse. Canada, US, countable, uncountable
"A haunch of venison would be trash to a Brahmin."
- 2 an amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant wordnet
- 3 A container into which things are discarded. Canada, US, countable, metonymically, uncountable
- 4 nonsensical talk or writing wordnet
- 5 Something worthless or of poor quality. Canada, US, countable, figuratively, uncountable
"When your life is trash, you don't have much to lose."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 worthless people wordnet
- 7 A dubious assertion, either for appearing untrue or for being excessively boastful. countable, uncountable
"(chiefly British)"
- 8 worthless material that is to be disposed of wordnet
- 9 The disused stems, leaves, or vines of a crop, sometimes mixed with weeds, which will either be plowed in as green manure or be removed by raking, grazing, or burning. Southern, US, countable, uncountable
- 10 Loose-leaf tobacco of a low grade, with much less commercial value than the principal grades. uncountable
- 11 People of low social status or class. (See, for example, white trash or Eurotrash.) Canada, US, countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
- 12 A fan who is excessively obsessed with their fandom and its fanworks. Canada, US, humorous, slang, uncountable
"Near-synonyms: stan; see also Thesaurus:fan"
- 13 Temporary storage on disk for files that the user has deleted, allowing them to be recovered if necessary. countable, uncountable
"Drag the unwanted message to the trash."
Verb
- 1 To discard. US
"Fatcat also fails to warn you that unformatting will trash any files copied to the unintentionally formatted disk."
- 2 express a totally negative opinion of wordnet
- 3 To make into a mess. US
"The burglars trashed the house."
- 4 dispose of (something useless or old) wordnet
- 5 To beat soundly in a game. US
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To treat as trash, or worthless matter; hence, to spurn, humiliate, or disrespect. transitive
"20 May 2018, Hadley Freeman in The Guardian, Is Meghan Markle the American the royals have needed all along? It is a British tradition for the media to celebrate an upcoming royal wedding by trashing the incoming in-laws, from Diana’s stepmother, Raine Spencer, to Kate Middleton’s Uncle Gary and his memorably named Ibizan villa, Maison de Bang Bang."
- 7 To free from trash, or worthless matter; hence, to lop; to crop.
"to trash the rattoons of sugar cane"
- 8 To hold back by a trash or leash, as a dog in pursuing game; hence, to retard, encumber, or restrain; to clog; to hinder vexatiously.
"I fled too; But not so fast , —your jewel had been lost then, Young Hengo there; he trashed ' me"
Example
"There's no use for plastic supermarket bags aside from putting trash in them."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trash"?
Common synonyms include: rubbish, garbage, junk, absurdity, amphigory, applesauce.
How do you use "trash" in a sentence?
There's no use for plastic supermarket bags aside from putting trash in them.
How do you pronounce "trash"?
Pronounced /tɹæʃ/.
Etymology
From Middle English trasch, trassh, probably a dialectal form of *trass (compare Orkney truss, English dialectal trous), from Old Norse tros (“rubbish, fallen leaves and twigs”), perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *þrakjaz (“dirt”). Pokorny instead derives it from Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”). Compare Norwegian trask (“lumber, trash, baggage”), Swedish trasa (“rag, cloth, worthless fellow”), Swedish trås (“dry fallen twigs, wood-waste”). Compare also Old English þreax (“rottenness, rubbish”).