What does "wastage" mean?

The amount or proportion of something that is wasted or lost by deterioration or other natural process.

What is a synonym for "wastage"?

Common synonyms include: ablation, absorption, assimilation, atrophy, attrition, bones.

//ˈweɪstɪdʒ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
The amount or proportion of something that is wasted or lost by deterioration or other natural process. uncountable
"The average wastage is 1.5% in the grocery department."
2
anything lost by wear or waste wordnet
3
The periodical turnover of personnel in an organisation by death, retirement or resignation, as perceived by those aspiring to promotion or appointment in the organisation. uncountable
4
the process of wasting wordnet
5
Anything lost by wear or waste. countable

Show 2 more definitions

6
Goods that are damaged, out of date, reduced, or generally unsaleable, which are destined to be thrown away and which are written off as a loss. uncountable
7
The act of abandoning animal carcasses or parts, usually illegal. countable

"The wastage of muscle tissue is a problem."

From waste + -age.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.