Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

wastebasket

[weyst-bas-kit, -bah-skit] / ˈweɪstˌbæs kɪt, -ˌbɑ skɪt /


NOUN
circular file
Synonyms




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The wastebasket at the Andaz Lisbon was so small I seriously thought it was an umbrella holder.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 7, 2026

Do it once, but make sure to sit beside a wastebasket.

From Salon Oct. 4, 2025

These commitments are important, as they give Kennedy something to wad up and christen his wastebasket with when he steps into his new office.

From Slate Feb. 8, 2025

This trend should be in the same wastebasket as mullets, microwave dinners and inflated lips.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 6, 2024

Don’t use a wastebasket, because that might have germs.

From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate

As a housemate, he was catastrophic—overturning wastebaskets, ransacking drawers and drenching manuscripts.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 23, 2026

When that happens, residents are forced to defecate in wastebaskets in their rooms and then, he said, take “the walk of shame” to deposit their feces in hallway trash rooms.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 16, 2023

She herself had emptied the wastebaskets as a little girl.

From Seattle Times Nov. 5, 2022

Functional pieces such as glassware, towels and wastebaskets don’t have to be boring.

From Washington Post May 19, 2022

Used train passes normally do not appear in suburban wastebaskets; they appear in the pockets of train conductors.

From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg




Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com