reusable

reusable — adjective

1. made or intended to be used many times instead of being thrown away after a sing

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

made or intended to be used many times instead of being thrown away after a single use — common when talking about reducing waste and packaging.

Example

The café on Elm Street now gives customers reusable metal straws instead of plastic ones.

attributive: reusable + [product type]

These shopping bags are reusable — just fold them up and bring them next time.

predicative: be + reusable

Common collocations
  • reusable bag
  • reusable bottle
  • reusable container
  • reusable cup
  • reusable straw
  • reusable packaging
  • reusable mask
  • reusable water bottle
Synonyms
  • refillable

    specifically for containers that can be filled with the same product again (e.g. a refillable ink cartridge)

  • multi-use

    a general synonym, less common than 'reusable', often used in product labelling

  • recyclable

    related but distinct — recyclable items are processed into raw materials, not necessarily used again as the same item

Antonyms
  • disposable

    designed to be thrown away after a single use

  • single-use

    intended for only one use, the opposite goal of reusability

Grammar Patterns

reusable + noun (attributive)

be + reusable (predicative)

Usage Note

Frequently appears in discussions about sustainability and waste reduction. Can be used both before a noun (attributive) and after a linking verb such as 'be' (predicative).

Common Mistakes

We buy reusable energy for our house.
We buy renewable energy for our house.
'reusable' describes items you can use again; 'renewable' describes energy sources that replenish naturally.
These reusable cups are recyclable, so you can wash them and use them again.
These cups are reusable, so you can wash them and use them again.
'reusable' means you can use the same item again; 'recyclable' means the material can be processed into something new.

Word family

  • reuse
    verbB1
  • reusability
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Reusable, refillable, recyclable, and multi-use all relate to items that last beyond a single use, but they differ in scope. Reusable is the broadest term, covering anything designed to be used again — from cloth bags to rechargeable batteries. Refillable is narrower, applying only to containers you can fill with the same product again (a refillable pen, not a refillable shopping bag). Recyclable is often confused with reusable: a recyclable item must be processed at a facility before becoming something new, whereas a reusable item stays in your hands. Multi-use appears mostly on product packaging and is essentially a synonym for reusable, though it sounds slightly more technical. In daily conversation, 'reusable' is the natural choice: 'I take a reusable water bottle to work' sounds more natural than 'I take a multi-use water bottle.'

reusable ↗refillablerecyclablemulti-use

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English by combining the prefix 're-' (meaning 'again') with the adjective 'usable'. The word became common in the mid-20th century as environmental awareness grew, though the concept of reusing objects is much older than the label.