waste

Plural: wastes

Noun

• any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
  • "they collect the waste once a week"
  • "much of the waste material is carried off in the sewers"
• useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly
  • "if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste"
• the trait of wasting resources
  • "a life characterized by thriftlessness and waste"
  • "the wastefulness of missed opportunities"
• an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation
  • "the trackless wastes of the desert"
• (law) reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect
• Excess of material, useless by-products, or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
• Excrement or urine.
• A wasteland; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.
• A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.
• A large tract of uncultivated land.
• The part of the land of a manor (of whatever size) not used for cultivation or grazing, nowadays treated as common land.
• A vast expanse of water.
• A disused mine or part of one.
• The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.
• Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.
• Gradual loss or decay.
• A decaying of the body by disease; atrophy; wasting away.
• Destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; see "to lay waste".
• 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.
• Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea.

Verb

Verb Forms: wasted, wasting, wastes

• To use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or for no purpose.
• spend thoughtlessly; throw away
  • "He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends"
• use inefficiently or inappropriately
  • "waste heat"
  • "waste a joke on an unappreciative audience"
• get rid of
  • "We waste the dirty water by channeling it into the sewer"
• run off as waste
  • "The water wastes back into the ocean"
• get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing
• spend extravagantly
  • "waste not, want not"
• lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
• cause to grow thin or weak
• cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
  • "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion"
• become physically weaker
• To devastate; to destroy.
• To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.
• To kill; to murder.
• 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.
• To gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
• To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.
• To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.

Adjective Satellite

• located in a dismal or remote area; desolate
  • "waste places"

Adj

• Useless and contemptible.
• Uncultivated, uninhabited.
• Barren; desert; empty.
• Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.
• Superfluous; needless.
• Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
• Unfortunate; disappointing.

Examples

• He vowed not to waste any more high-point letters on low-scoring plays in Scrabble.
• Her life seemed a waste.
• That was a waste of time!
• The cage was littered with animal waste.
• We wasted millions of dollars and several years on that project.

Synonyms

barren, blow, consume, desolate, devastate, dissipation, do in, emaciate, godforsaken, knock off, languish, lay waste to, liquidate, macerate, neutralise, neutralize, permissive waste, pine away, ravage, rot, run off, scourge, squander, thriftlessness, ware, waste material, waste matter, waste product, wastefulness, wasteland, wild, cack, duppy, top

Antonyms

conserve

Related Words

Waste in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams of waste