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rubbish

RUB-ish/ˈɹʌbɪʃ/

Verbrubbishes, rubbishing, rubbished

9 meanings of rubbish

Practice

  1. 1
    wastenounCommonwealthuncountable
    Things people throw away because they no longer want or need them.

    Can you take the rubbish out before you go to school?

    The park was full of rubbish after the festival.

    Similartrash, garbage, junk, waste, refuse

    Note
  2. 2
    nounCommonwealthuncountable
    Words or ideas that are silly and make no sense.

    Don't talk rubbish, you know that isn't true.

    Most of what he wrote in that essay was rubbish.

    Similarbaloney, bullshit, bull, bollocks, balderdash

    Oppositesense

    Note
  3. 3
    I disagreeinterjectioncolloquialCommonwealthIrelandUK
    Said to show you think what someone just said is silly or not true.

    "You ate all the biscuits." "Rubbish! I only had one."

    "Rubbish," said Gran. "You're not too old to learn."

    Similarbollocks, bullshit

    Note
  4. 4
    very badadjectivecolloquialCommonwealthIrelandUK
    Really bad, or not good at all.

    We had a rubbish holiday because it rained every day.

    I'm rubbish at drawing, but I love painting.

    Similarawful, terrible, crap, crappy, dreadful

    Oppositegreat, excellent, brilliant

    Note
  5. 5
    junknounCommonwealthuncountable
    Things that are badly made or not good.

    That shop sells nothing but cheap rubbish.

    Why do you watch that rubbish on TV every night?

    Similarjunk, trash, garbage, dross, tat

    Note
  6. 6
    criticizeverbcolloquialCommonwealthIrelandUKtransitive
    To say that someone or something is bad or worthless.

    The newspapers rubbished the new plan the next morning.

    Don't rubbish my cooking if you won't make dinner yourself.

    Similardismiss, disparage, belittle, slam, deride

    Oppositepraise

    Note
  7. 7
    oh nointerjectioncolloquialCommonwealthIrelandUK
    Said to show that you think something that happened is really bad.

    "I failed my driving test again." "Aw, rubbish, I'm sorry."

    I dropped my ice cream on the ground. Rubbish! Now I have none left.

    Similardamn, drat, blast, bother

    Note
  8. 8
    drop litterverbcolloquialAustraliaCommonwealthHong KongIrelandUKtransitive
    To make a place messy by dropping litter in it.

    Please don't rubbish the beach when you leave.

    Visitors rubbished the park after the concert.

    Similarlitter, trash

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 9
    ruinsnounarchaicuncountable
    Broken stones and pieces left when buildings fall down.

    When the bombing stopped, the old street was a heap of rubbish.

    Nothing remains of Utica, excepting a heap of rubbiſh and ſmall ſtones: but the trenches and approaches of the ancient beſiegers are ſtill very perfect.
    1790, “Art. III. Mr. [James] Bruce’s Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile. [Article continued.]”, in The Monthly ReviewHere, rubbish means broken stones and pieces left from fallen buildings.
    Note

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English robous, "rubbish, building rubble"; where that word came from is uncertain.