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rubbish
[ ruhb-ish ]
noun
- worthless, unwanted material that is rejected or thrown out; debris; litter; trash.
- nonsense, as in writing or art:
sentimental rubbish.
Synonyms: , , ,
rubbish
/ ˈʌɪʃ /
noun
- worthless, useless, or unwanted matter
- discarded or waste matter; refuse
- foolish words or speech; nonsense
verb
- informal.tr to criticize; attack verbally
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of rubbish1
Idioms and Phrases
see good riddance (to bad rubbish) .Example Sentences
The couple's baby Victoria, their fifth child, was found dead in a shed on a Brighton allotment, in a shopping bag covered in rubbish in March 2023.
Paul's hunch is proven right though as a search among the rubbish unearths a box of illegal vapes.
Talks are set to continue on Wednesday to end a strike by Birmingham bin workers which has seen mountains of uncollected rubbish pile up on pavements and street corners.
"My most interesting piece is a little bit of stone, but I haven't got it checked yet so I don't now if it is valuable or rubbish," said Valerie.
The population density is highest in this area, so there is more waste, and fewer people have access to cars to take their rubbish to the tips.
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More About Rubbish
is rubbish?
Rubbish is unwanted material, such as something you throw into a waste barrel, like a banana peel.
Rubbish is also something that is considered nonsense and not worth anything, like an idea or a piece of art.
In Australia and New Zealand, rubbish can mean to criticize or verbally attack. It’s often used informally.
Example: Make sure you clean up all this rubbish before you leave tonight.
Where does rubbish come from?
The first records of the term rubbish come from around 1350. It is thought to come from the Middle English rubbes, as does rubble. Rubbish usually refers to smaller particles of trash, while rubble describes large pieces of debris, such as chunks of masonry after a building has been demolished.
When rubbish is used figuratively to criticize something, it frequently refers to text or speech, as in That article is utter rubbish. But it can also refer to a piece of media as in, That film was rubbish. Rubbish is used more commonly in the United Kingdom than in the United States or other English-speaking nations, although it is still used worldwide in moderation.
Did you know … ?
are some other forms related to rubbish?
- rubbishy (adjective)
are some synonyms for rubbish?
are some words that share a root or word element with rubbish?
are some words that often get used in discussing rubbish?
How is rubbish used in real life?
Rubbish is a commonly used word to mean either trash or nonsense.
sometimes the only solution to a rubbish day is going home to eat a lot of chocolate and climbing into bed
— M A R I N A (@MarinaDiamandis)
Somebody bought a lotto ticket and thought he put it in the bin then spent 15 mins sifting through rubbish and found it in his pocket (me)
— Phil Lester (@AmazingPhil)
Rubbish decision to send off Mané. Rubbish.
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker)
Try using rubbish!
Is rubbish used correctly in the following sentence?
These decisions the mayor keeps making are absolute rubbish.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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