# trash

Pronunciation: say "TRASH" /tɹæʃ/

## Noun

1. Useless physical things meant to be thrown away; refuse. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: Things you throw away because you no longer want or need them.
   - _The crew collects household trash every Tuesday morning._
   - _Years of trash had piled up behind the abandoned factory._
3. Something regarded as worthless or of very poor quality. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: Something that is very bad or has no value.
   - _Critics dismissed the novel as sentimental trash._
   - _The phone broke within a week; it turned out to be pure trash._
4. A receptacle for discarded items; a wastebasket or bin. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A bin or can where you put things you throw away.
   - _She tossed the crumpled letter into the trash._
   - _Empty the trash before the kitchen starts to smell._
6. A temporary holding area on disk for deleted files, allowing them to be recovered if needed.
   - Simple: A place on a computer that holds deleted files so you can get them back.
   - _Items in the trash stay recoverable until you empty it._
   - _She emptied the trash to free up storage space._
7. A derogatory term for people regarded as belonging to a low social class or status. *(slang, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A mean, insulting word for people seen as having low class or status.
   - _The snobbish clerk treated every customer in worn clothes like trash._
   - _They dismissed the newcomers as trash unworthy of the neighborhood._
10. Boastful or untrue talk, especially insults or bragging aimed at an opponent.
   - Simple: Boastful or untrue talk, often meant to insult someone.
   - _The boxer spouted endless trash at the weigh-in._
   - _Most of his trash turned out to be empty bragging._
11. A fan jokingly described as excessively obsessed with their fandom and its fan-created works. *(slang, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A person who is playfully and deeply obsessed with a show, band, or hobby.
   - _He calls himself trash for the franchise and writes fan fiction nightly._
   - _The convention was packed with happy trash trading homemade art._
12. The leftover stems, leaves, or vines of a crop, sometimes mixed with weeds, plowed in as green manure or cleared away. *(dialectal, Southern, US)*
   - Simple: The leftover stems, leaves, and vines of a crop after harvest.
   - _The sugarcane trash was raked into rows and left to dry._
   - _Plowing the trash under enriches the soil for next season._
13. Low-grade loose-leaf tobacco, worth far less commercially than the principal grades.
   - Simple: Low-quality loose tobacco leaves worth much less than the best grades.
   - _Most of the bottom leaves were graded as trash and sold cheaply._
   - _The warehouse separated the prime stock from the trash before auction._

## Verb

2. To throw away or get rid of something as waste. *(US)*
   - Simple: To throw something away because you do not want it.
   - _She trashed the leftovers that had been sitting in the fridge for a week._
   - _We need to trash these expired coupons._
5. To treat someone as worthless; to spurn, humiliate, or disrespect them.
   - Simple: To treat someone very badly, as if they have no worth.
   - _Pundits love to trash politicians they disagree with._
   - _They trashed her reputation with rumors they knew were false._
8. To turn something, especially a room or space, into a mess. *(US)*
   - Simple: To turn a place into a complete mess.
   - _The band trashed the hotel room after the concert._
   - _Toddlers can trash a tidy playroom in minutes._
9. To defeat decisively in a game or competition. *(US)*
   - Simple: To beat someone very badly in a game or contest.
   - _The home side trashed their rivals in the season opener._
   - _A well-drilled team can trash opponents who show up unprepared._
14. To clear something of worthless matter, especially by lopping or stripping unwanted leaves and growth from a plant.
   - Simple: To clear away waste from something, especially by cutting dead leaves or extra growth off a plant.
   - _Growers trash young cane by peeling the dry outer leaves off each stalk, leaving the healthy stems standing._
   - _In late summer they trashed the vines, pulling off old leaves so more light could reach the grapes._
15. To hold back, as a dog by a leash or weight; hence, to retard, encumber, or hinder.
   - Simple: To hold an animal back with a leash or weight, or to slow something down.
   - _The keeper trashed the fastest hounds so the pack would stay together._
   - _Thick mud can trash a horse as surely as any rope._

## Origin

From Middle English trasch or trassh, probably a dialectal form of *trass, from Old Norse tros ("rubbish, fallen leaves and twigs"), perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *þrakjaz ("dirt"). Pokorny instead traces it to Proto-Indo-European *dóru ("tree"), and it may be compared with Norwegian trask, Swedish trasa, and Old English þreax ("rubbish").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/trash (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).