Waste Meaning
/ˈweɪ̯st/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounExcess of material, useless by-products, or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
nounExcrement or urine.
Sentence Examples
This day was just a waste of time and money.
Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.
The council is responsible for waste disposal and street cleaning.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher told the students not to ____ paper when they were drawing.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please don't ____ your time on things that are not important, and focus on completing your work today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English wast, waste (“a waste”, noun), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast, waste (“a waste”), from Frankish *wōstī (“a waste”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstaz, *wōstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty, wasted”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We went down accordingly into the waste, and began to make our toilsome and devious travel towards the eastern verge."
— 1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC:
"The pampas of Argentina and the chilly wastes of Patagonia, like the prairies and deserts of North America, were largely shunned by Spanish settlers until the 1870s."
— 1992, Edwin Williamson, The Penguin history of Latin America, London; New York: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 33:
"'Rebel railwaymen' at Birmingham New Street refused to wear the new uniforms on the grounds that they were a "complete waste of public money"."
— 2023 March 22, Mike Esbester, “Staff, the public and industry will suffer”, in RAIL, number 979, page 39:
"Niggas moves so waste / Please, come outside the house and show yourself / So I can say it to your face"
— 2017 March 18, “Free Smoke”, in More Life, performed by Drake:
"Waste / Don't talk to me / You're so waste"
— 2022 September 22, “ONTARIO PLACE”, in BADMAN, performed by Bert Le Plug:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher told the students not to ____ paper when they were drawing.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please don't ____ your time on things that are not important, and focus on completing your work today.