trash

trash — noun

1. written works, films, television programs, or other products that are so poor in

1.nounB1
Definition

written works, films, television programs, or other products that are so poor in quality that they are considered worthless or not worth anyone's time.

Example

Yumi could not believe people paid money to watch that trash on television.

be + trash: expressing poor quality

The novel was utter trash, with flat characters and a boring plot.

utter trash — intensifier collocation

Common collocations
  • utter trash
  • complete trash
  • pure trash
  • full of trash
Synonyms
  • rubbish

    British English equivalent, equally informal

  • junk

    focuses on uselessness rather than poor quality

  • crap

    vulgar slang, much stronger negative tone

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be + trash

call something + trash

Usage Note

Uncountable — do not say 'a trash' or 'trashes'. Frequently used with intensifiers like 'utter' or 'complete'.

Common Mistakes

I bought a trash at the store.
The movie I watched was trash.
trash is uncountable and cannot be used with 'a' in this sense.
This is a trash book.
This book is trash.
as a noun, it follows 'be + trash'; as an adjective use 'trashy'.

2. things such as empty food containers, used paper, broken objects, and other unwa

2.nounA2
Definition

things such as empty food containers, used paper, broken objects, and other unwanted materials that people put in a bin to be taken away.

Example

Christopher tied up the kitchen trash bag and carried it outside.

kitchen trash — typical location collocation

A strong smell of rotting trash filled the alley behind the restaurant.

Common collocations
  • take out the trash
  • household trash
  • kitchen trash
  • trash bag
  • trash can
  • trash bin
Synonyms
  • rubbish

    British English equivalent

  • garbage

    especially wet waste like food scraps; US English

  • refuse

    formal term for waste collection

Grammar Patterns

take out the trash

throw something in the trash

Usage Note

In British English, 'rubbish' is the more common word for this sense. 'Trash' in this meaning is standard American English. Uncountable — 'the trash is full', not 'the trash are full'.

Common Mistakes

Take out the trashes please.
Take out the trash please.
trash is uncountable and has no plural form.

3. an offensive word for a person or group of people that the speaker considers wor

3.nounB2
Definition

an offensive word for a person or group of people that the speaker considers worthless, contemptible, or beneath notice.

Example

How dare you call my friends trash — they have done nothing to hurt you.

call someone + trash — insult structure

The coach told the press that anyone who quit on the team was trash.

Common collocations
  • call someone trash
  • treat someone like trash
  • a bunch of trash
Synonyms
  • scum

    even stronger insult, implies moral depravity

  • lowlife

    focuses on social status and behaviour

  • good-for-nothing

    less offensive, emphasizes uselessness

Grammar Patterns

call someone + trash

be + trash (referring to people)

Usage Note

Strongly offensive and dehumanizing. Use with extreme caution or avoid in polite conversation. Not typically used to describe oneself.

Common Mistakes

He is a trash.
He is trash.
uncountable; no article is used even for a single person.

trash — verb

Word family

  • trashy
    adjectiveB2
  • trashiness
    nounC1
  • trash can
    nounA2
  • trash bag
    nounA2
  • trash talk
    nounB2
  • trash bin
    nounA2
  • trash collection
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

In American English, trash and garbage overlap but are not identical. Trash typically refers to dry waste such as paper, packaging, and bottles, while garbage is wet waste like food scraps and peelings. Rubbish is the standard British English word covering both types. Litter means small pieces of waste dropped carelessly in public places — it is about behaviour, not the waste itself. Junk describes old or broken objects that still exist somewhere (an attic, a yard) rather than having been thrown away — junk has not yet reached the bin. For example: 'Take the trash out to the curb' (household waste); 'The kitchen garbage smells' (food waste); 'Pick up that litter' (public mess); 'His garage is full of junk' (stored worthless items).

trash ↗garbage ↗rubbish ↗litter ↗junk ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • trash can
  • trash bag
  • trash bin
  • trash pickup
  • trash collection
  • trash day

Adverbs

  • totally trash
  • completely trash

Phrases

  • take out the trash
  • full of trash
  • a bunch of trash

Prepositions

  • trash as something
  • trash for being something

Etymology

Old NorseMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'trash' first appeared in Middle English around the 1300s, meaning 'bits broken off' or 'fallen twigs' — probably borrowed from Old Norse 'tros' meaning 'rubbish or fallen leaves'. By the 1500s it had come to mean any worthless or discarded material. The verb sense 'to throw away' emerged in the mid-1800s. The meaning 'to destroy or vandalize' appeared in American English around 1900, and the 'harshly criticize' sense developed in the late 1900s.