garbage
garbage
Pronunciation
/ˈɡɑːrbɪdʒ/
Syllable Breakdown:
gar-: /ˈɡɑːr/ - Consists of the velar voiced stop /ɡ/, the open unrounded vowel /ɑː/, and the voiced postalveolar approximant /r/.
-bage: /bɪdʒ/ - Consists of the bilabial voiced stop /b/, the near-close near-front unrounded vowel /ɪ/, and the voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/.
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: garbage
Plural Noun: garbage (uncountable, so the form remains the same)
Adjective (rare, informal, derived from the noun): garbage (e.g., "garbage can," "garbage food")
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition: Discarded or unwanted material, typically household waste, food scraps, or other refuse that is considered worthless or no longer useful.
Synonyms: trash, rubbish, refuse, waste, litter, junk
Antonyms: treasure, valuables, assets, keepsakes
Definition: (Figurative, informal) Ideas, information, or artistic creations that are considered of very poor quality, nonsensical, or untrue.
Synonyms: nonsense, drivel, rubbish, hogwash, twaddle, bunk
Antonyms: wisdom, truth, insight, brilliance, masterpiece
Adjective (informal, derived from the noun)
Definition: Of extremely low quality; worthless or contemptible. Often used to describe products, services, or entertainment.
Synonyms: terrible, awful, dreadful, shoddy, worthless, cheap, substandard
Antonyms: excellent, superb, high-quality, valuable, premium, exceptional
Examples of Use
Books:
"His mind was a swirling eddy of garbage and fear, a place where rational thought went to die." (From The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, though the exact phrasing may vary slightly across translations.)
"She sorted through the mail, tossing most of it into the garbage bin, the usual assortment of flyers and bills." (General fiction example, common in domestic scenes.)
Newspapers:
"The city council debated new initiatives to reduce household garbage and promote recycling." (Headline from a local newspaper, common in environmental reporting.)
"Critics slammed the new film as 'absolute garbage,' citing its incoherent plot and wooden acting." (Film review in an arts section of a newspaper, often quoting critics.)
Online Publications:
"Five common tech myths that are just garbage." (Headline from a technology blog like Wired or TechCrunch, often used to debunk misinformation.)
"Why are we still producing so much garbage? A look at consumerism and waste." (Article title from an environmental news website like Grist or National Geographic Environment.)
"This recipe for vegan 'chicken' is not garbage at all; it's surprisingly delicious!" (Food blog review or social media post, informal usage.)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Television Series/Movies:
Character A: "You call that art? That's garbage!" (Common dialogue in shows or movies where characters are expressing strong opinions on something.)
(Often heard in crime dramas) "The police found a bloody knife in the garbage can behind the suspect's house." (Plot device for discovery of evidence.)
Music/Song Lyrics:
"All the things you said to me were garbage, just lies and deceit." (Figurative use in song lyrics to convey worthlessness of words.)
(Band Name) "Garbage" (The alternative rock band Garbage is a direct example of the word in entertainment.)
Video Games:
(In-game character dialogue) "Don't pick up that sword, it's just garbage tier equipment." (Used in RPGs or loot-based games to describe low-quality items.)
(Player comment in a forum) "The last update completely ruined the game, it's garbage now." (Player expressing negative sentiment.)
Podcasts:
"Today we're talking about all the political garbage flooding our news feeds." (Host's introduction to a segment discussing misinformation or unhelpful political discourse.)
General Public Discourse:
"I tried that new restaurant, but the food was absolute garbage." (Everyday conversation, expressing a strong negative opinion.)
"Don't listen to that guy, everything he says is just garbage." (Dismissing someone's opinions as untrue or worthless.)
"Could you take the garbage out, please? It's starting to smell." (Common household request.)
(On social media) "Seriously, the comments section on that post is pure garbage." (Referring to hateful or nonsensical comments.)
"My computer keeps freezing up; it's just a piece of garbage." (Expressing frustration with a malfunctioning item.)
10 Famous Quotes Using Garbage
"One man's trash is another man's treasure." (Proverb, widely attributed)
"The first rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging. The second rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging garbage." (A play on the common proverb, often attributed to various politicians or financial advisors, highlighting bad decisions.)
"Ninety percent of everything is garbage." (Sturgeon's Law, often attributed to Theodore Sturgeon)
"You are what you eat, so don't be garbage." (Often seen as a motivational quote, origin unclear but widely circulated)
"I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum." (While not using "garbage," this quote from the film They Live (1988) uses "trash" implicitly when referring to the protagonist's assessment of society, which he calls "filth.")
"If you put garbage in, you get garbage out." (Common computer science adage, particularly in relation to data input - GIGO principle)
"Don't throw good money after bad garbage." (A variation of the common idiom "don't throw good money after bad," implying a worthless investment)
"All that you have is your soul. If you don't take care of it, you become garbage." (Lesser-known, but often attributed to philosophical or spiritual teachings)
"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. If you let it fill with garbage, that's what you become." (A general philosophical quote, common in self-help literature)
"A society that throws away its elderly is a society that throws away its wisdom – a society that becomes garbage." (Original quote, metaphorical use)
Etymology
It first appeared in English around the early 1400s during the Middle English period. Its original meaning was quite specific: it referred to the "giblets" or "offal" of a fowl, meaning the internal organs like the heart, liver, and gizzard, which were often considered edible but also parts that were discarded during preparation. Think of it as the bits that "fell off" when you butchered a chicken.
The exact origin is a bit hazy, but it's thought to have come from Anglo-Norman French (a dialect of French spoken in England after the Norman Conquest) and ultimately from an Old French word like "garber," which meant "to refine" or "make neat." This might seem counterintuitive for a word meaning waste, but it could refer to the act of removing the unwanted parts to make something clean or refined.
Over time, the meaning of "garbage" expanded from just the discarded parts of animals to include any kind of useless or unwanted material, especially household waste. It also started to be used figuratively to describe things that were worthless or nonsensical, like "that idea is garbage."
Interestingly, the word "garbage" might have also been influenced by or confused with another word, "garble," which historically meant to sort out the good from the bad (like sifting spices) and later came to mean to confuse or distort. While not directly linked, there's some overlap in the idea of unwanted bits being removed or creating confusion.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Garbage
Here's a list of phrases and idioms using "garbage," or synonyms for similar effect:
Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO): (Common idiom) Refers to the idea that the quality of output is dependent on the quality of input, particularly in computing.
Talk garbage: (Informal phrase) To speak nonsense or untrue things.
Heap of garbage: (Phrase) A large accumulation of trash; also used metaphorically to describe something messy or of very poor quality.
One man's trash is another man's treasure: (Common idiom using a synonym) What one person considers worthless, another might value greatly.
Trash talk: (Common phrase using a synonym) Inflammatory or boastful comments made to provoke an opponent, often in sports.
Take out the garbage: (Common phrase) To remove the household waste; also used figuratively to mean eliminating something unwanted or dealing with a problem.
Dumpster diving: (Phrase using a synonym for "garbage container") The act of sifting through discarded items in dumpsters to find useful or valuable things.
Garbage collector: (Common phrase) A person or vehicle responsible for collecting waste.
Garbage pail/can/bin: (Common phrases) Containers for holding waste.
To be relegated to the garbage heap of history: (Figurative idiom) To be forgotten or deemed irrelevant over time.
Pure garbage: (Phrase) Something considered utterly worthless or of extremely poor quality.
Fill your head with garbage: (Phrase) To consume or believe useless or harmful information.
Don't trash the place: (Idiom using a synonym) Don't make a mess or damage the surroundings.
Sweep under the rug/carpet: (Idiom implying hidden trash) To conceal something embarrassing or unpleasant rather than dealing with it.
Junk food: (Common phrase using a synonym) Food that is unhealthy and offers little nutritional value.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of garbage from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
