We will soon most likely be charged for garbage disposal by how much of it there is.
Source: tatoeba (18760)
Garbage
/ˈɡɑː.bɪd͡ʒ/
Synonyms for "garbage" (123 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (25)
Strong matches (37)
Related words (61)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: refuse, drivel, junk, rubbish, trash.
- Sentence evidence is available for garbage, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, wordnet, opengloss, moby, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "garbage".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "garbage"
Keep "garbage" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "garbage" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "garbage", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "garbage" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
15 entriescontentdataexclamationexpressionmessagequalityreceptaclesolid wastesubject mattersubstancewastewaste management terminologywaste materialwaste matterwaste product
More specific
17 entriesabsurd claim exclamationdiscarded result exclamationfalse claim exclamationfood wastegarbage baggarbage bingarbage datagarbage resultsgarbled datahousehold garbageidle chatterindustrial wastenonsense exclamationrubbish talkuninitialized memoryunusable data exclamation
Showing 16 of 17 words.
Collocations
14 entriesgarbage baggarbage cangarbage collectiongarbage datagarbage disposalgarbage dumpgarbage ingarbage inputgarbage outgarbage resultshousehold garbagetotal garbageutter garbageworthless data
Translations
226 translations across 112 languages.
Albanian
1 entries- mbeturinë noun (waste material)
Arabic
4 entries- زبالة noun (waste material)
- زبالة noun (waste material)
- زُبَالَة noun (waste material)
- قُمَامَة noun (waste material)
Armenian
1 entries- աղբ noun (waste material)
Assamese
2 entries- আৱৰ্জনা noun (waste material)
- জাৱৰ noun (waste material)
Azerbaijani
3 entries- tullantı noun (waste material)
- zibil noun (waste material)
- çöp noun (waste material)
Belarusian
3 entries- сме́цце noun (waste material)
- смяццё noun (waste material)
- сьмяцьцё noun (waste material)
Bengali
2 entries- আবর্জনা noun (waste material)
- ছার noun (waste material)
Bhojpuri
1 entries- कचरा noun (waste material)
Breton
1 entries- stroñk noun (waste material)
Bulgarian
3 entries- боклу́к noun (waste material)
- отпа́дък noun (waste material)
- смет noun (waste material)
Burmese
4 entries- ပေါက်ကရ noun (waste material)
- အညစ်အကြေး noun (waste material)
- အမှိုက် noun (waste material)
- အမှိုက်သရိုက် noun (waste material)
Catalan
3 entries- brossa noun (waste material)
- deixalles noun (waste material)
- escombraries noun (waste material)
Chamicuro
1 entries- s̈hutechi noun (waste material)
Cherokee
1 entries- ᎤᏲ noun (waste material)
Chinese
2 entries- ңәсуә noun (waste material)
- 糞埽 /粪埽 noun (waste material)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 垃圾 noun (waste material)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- 垃圾 noun (waste material)
- 廢品 /废品 noun (waste material)
- 廢物 /废物 noun (waste material)
- 破爛 /破烂 noun (waste material)
Czech
3 entries- odpad noun (waste material)
- odpadky noun (waste material)
- smetí noun (waste material)
Danish
1 entries- affald noun (waste material)
Dari
2 entries- کَثَافَت noun (waste material)
- کِثَافَت noun (waste material)
Dutch
4 entries- afval noun (waste material)
- huisvuil noun (waste material)
- vuil noun (waste material)
- vuilnis noun (waste material)
Eastern Min Chinese
1 entries- 糞掃 /粪扫 noun (waste material)
Esperanto
2 entries- rubaĵo noun (waste material)
- rubo noun (waste material)
Estonian
2 entries- jäätmed noun (waste material)
- rämps noun (waste material)
Faroese
1 entries- rusl noun (waste material)
Finnish
3 entries- jäte noun (waste material)
- jätteet noun (waste material)
- roskat noun (waste material)
French
3 entries- déchet noun (waste material)
- ordures noun (waste material)
- poubelle noun (waste material)
Galician
4 entries- baldroada noun (waste material)
- ciscallo noun (waste material)
- foira noun (waste material)
- fória noun (waste material)
Gan Chinese
1 entries- 罯屑 noun (waste material)
Georgian
2 entries- ნაგავი noun (waste material)
- ნარჩენები noun (waste material)
German
3 entries- Abfall noun (waste material)
- Güsel noun (waste material)
- Müll noun (waste material)
Greek
2 entries- απορρίματα noun (waste material)
- σκουπίδια noun (waste material)
Greenlandic
1 entries- igitat noun (waste material)
Hakka Chinese
1 entries- 垃圾 noun (waste material)
Hebrew
2 entries- אַשְׁפָּה noun (waste material)
- זֶבֶל noun (waste material)
Hindi
2 entries- कचरा noun (waste material)
- कूड़ा noun (waste material)
Hungarian
2 entries- hulladék noun (waste material)
- szemét noun (waste material)
Icelandic
1 entries- rusl noun (waste material)
Ido
1 entries- eskombro noun (waste material)
Indonesian
1 entries- sampah noun (waste material)
Ingrian
3 entries- moška noun (waste material)
- rikka noun (waste material)
- roska noun (waste material)
Iranian Persian
4 entries- آشْخال noun (waste material)
- آشْغال noun (waste material)
- زُبالِه noun (waste material)
- پَسمانْد noun (waste material)
Irish
2 entries- bruscar noun (waste material)
- garr noun (waste material)
Italian
3 entries- immondizia noun (waste material)
- rifiuti noun (waste material)
- spazzatura noun (waste material)
Japanese
4 entries- がらくた noun (waste material)
- ごみ noun (waste material)
- 廃品 noun (waste material)
- 廃物 noun (waste material)
Jin Chinese
2 entries- 惡圾 /恶圾 noun (waste material)
- 灰渣 noun (waste material)
Kapampangan
1 entries- layak noun (waste material)
Kazakh
2 entries- ескі-құсқы noun (waste material)
- қоқым-соқым noun (waste material)
Khmer
2 entries- សំរាម noun (waste material)
- ឡាប់សង noun (waste material)
Korean
2 entries- 쓰레기 noun (waste material)
- 오물 noun (waste material)
Kyrgyz
2 entries- таштанды noun (waste material)
- шыпырынды noun (waste material)
Lao
4 entries- ຂຍະ noun (waste material)
- ຂີ້ເຫຍື້ອ noun (waste material)
- ຄຸມຝອຽ noun (waste material)
- ມູນຝອຽ noun (waste material)
Latin
3 entries- purgamentum noun (waste material)
- quisquiliae noun (waste material)
- scrūta noun (waste material)
Latvian
1 entries- atkritumi noun (waste material)
Lithuanian
1 entries- šiukšlės noun (waste material)
Lun Bawang
1 entries- arep noun (waste material)
Macedonian
2 entries- смет noun (waste material)
- ѓубре noun (waste material)
Malay
1 entries- sampah noun (waste material)
Malayalam
2 entries- ചവറ് noun (waste material)
- മാലിന്യം noun (waste material)
Manx
1 entries- fooillagh noun (waste material)
Marathi
1 entries- कचरा noun (waste material)
Mongolian
2 entries- хаягдал noun (waste material)
- хог noun (waste material)
Māori
2 entries- karaweta noun (waste material)
- parahanga noun (waste material)
Nigerian Pidgin
1 entries- doti-doti noun (waste material)
Northern Kurdish
3 entries- gilêş noun (waste material)
- sergo noun (waste material)
- çop noun (waste material)
Northern Min Chinese
1 entries- 垃圾 noun (waste material)
Norwegian Bokmål
3 entries- avfall noun (waste material)
- boss noun (waste material)
- søppel noun (waste material)
Occitan
1 entries- bordilha noun (waste material)
Ojibwe
1 entries- ziigwebinigan noun (waste material)
Oromo
1 entries- kosii noun (waste material)
Pannonian Rusyn
1 entries- шмеце noun (waste material)
Pashto
4 entries- پوتل noun (waste material)
- کثافات noun (waste material)
- ګيخه noun (waste material)
- ګيچه noun (waste material)
Plautdietsch
3 entries- Auffaul noun (waste material)
- Aufgank noun (waste material)
- Schunt noun (waste material)
Polish
2 entries- odpady noun (waste material)
- śmieci noun (waste material)
Portuguese
1 entries- lixo noun (waste material)
Romagnol
1 entries- rùsco noun (waste material)
Romanian
1 entries- gunoi noun (waste material)
Russian
4 entries- му́сор noun (waste material)
- отбро́сы noun (waste material)
- сме́тье noun (waste material)
- сор noun (waste material)
Samoan
1 entries- otaota noun (waste material)
Sardinian
1 entries- aliga noun (waste material)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- sgudal noun (waste material)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- smèće noun (waste material)
- đubre noun (waste material)
- ȍtpād noun (waste material)
- о̏тпа̄д noun (waste material)
Slovak
2 entries- odpad noun (waste material)
- odpadky noun (waste material)
Slovene
2 entries- odpadek noun (waste material)
- smet noun (waste material)
Spanish
2 entries- basura noun (waste material)
- desperdicios noun (waste material)
Swedish
1 entries- skräp noun (waste material)
Tai Dam
1 entries- ꪄꪲ꫁ꪹꪐ꫁ noun (waste material)
Tajik
4 entries- ахлот noun (waste material)
- ошхол noun (waste material)
- ошғол noun (waste material)
- хокрӯба noun (waste material)
Tatar
1 entries- чүп-чәр noun (waste material)
Telugu
1 entries- చెత్త noun (waste material)
Tetum
1 entries- lixu noun (waste material)
Thai
3 entries- กาก noun (waste material)
- ขยะ noun (waste material)
- หยากเยื่อ noun (waste material)
Tibetan
1 entries- གད་སྙིགས noun (waste material)
Tongan
1 entries- ngaoha'a noun (waste material)
Turkish
2 entries- süprüntü noun (waste material)
- çöp noun (waste material)
Turkmen
2 entries- zibil noun (waste material)
- çöp noun (waste material)
Ukrainian
1 entries- сміття́ noun (waste material)
Urdu
4 entries- آلائِش noun (waste material)
- حَشْو noun (waste material)
- فُضْلَہ noun (waste material)
- مَلْبا noun (waste material)
Uyghur
1 entries- ئەخلەت noun (waste material)
Uzbek
3 entries- axlat noun (waste material)
- chiqindi noun (waste material)
- eski-tuski noun (waste material)
Vietnamese
1 entries- rác noun (waste material)
Welsh
2 entries- sbwriel noun (waste material)
- sothach noun (waste material)
West-Frisian
1 entries- ôffal noun (waste material)
White Hmong
1 entries- khib nyiab noun (waste material)
Wu Chinese
1 entries- 垃圾 noun (waste material)
Wutunhua
1 entries- halamala noun (waste material)
Xhosa
1 entries- inkunkuma noun (waste material)
Xiang Chinese
1 entries- 屑子 noun (waste material)
Yiddish
2 entries- אָפּפֿאַל noun (waste material)
- מיסט noun (waste material)
Zazaki
1 entries- slo noun (waste material)
Zhuang
1 entries- nyapnyaj noun (waste material)
Zulu
1 entries- imfucuza noun (waste material)
Sample sentences
21 total sentences available.
The garbage is giving off a terrible smell.
Source: tatoeba (50390)
Where is the garbage area?
Source: tatoeba (56403)
Getting rid of garbage has become a major headache for the authorities.
Source: tatoeba (56404)
Showing 4 of 21 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "garbage"?
Closest matches include refuse, drivel, junk, rubbish, trash.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "garbage"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.