Word family noun wastage waste wastefulness waster wastrel adjective waste wasteful wasted wasting verb waste adverb wastefully
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwastewaste1 /weɪst/ ●●● S2 W3 noun 1 bad use [singular, uncountable]WASTE something when something such as money or skills are not used in a way that is effective, useful, or sensiblewaste of Being unemployed is such a waste of your talents. Many believe that state aid is a waste of taxpayers’ money. What a waste of all that good work! excessive waste in state spending2 → go to waste3 → be a waste of time/money/effort etc4 unwanted materials [uncountable]RUBBISH/WASTE unwanted materials or substances that are left after you have used something The emphasis now is on recycling waste. → nuclear waste, toxic waste5 → a waste of space6 → wastes → waste ground, wastelandCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 4: unwanted materials or substances that are left after you have used somethingverbsrecycle wasteHow much of our household waste is recycled?dispose of wasteenvironmentally friendly ways to dispose of wastedump wasteThey were fined for illegally dumping waste.incinerate waste (=burn it)For many years, solid waste was incinerated.reprocess waste (=treat radioactive waste so that it can be used again)The plant reprocesses nuclear waste.adjectiveshousehold/domestic wasteNewspapers and magazines make up 10% of household waste.industrial/chemical wastepollution caused by industrial wastehazardous/toxic wastethe illegal dumping of hazardous wasteradioactive/nuclear wasteplans for the safe transportation of radioactive wasteorganic waste (=waste from plants, fruits, and vegetables)Organic waste can be composted to make garden fertilizer.human waste (=from people going to the toilet)The prison was full of the smell of human waste.waste + NOUNa waste pipea washing machine waste pipe Examples from the Corpus
waste• But it was also a mark of his belief that gossip was simply a waste of time.• The Commission has already proposed establishing a compensation fund for damage caused by waste.• In the absence of domestic reprocessing facilities, waste is rapidly piling up in storage.• The operation made financial and environmental sense by eliminating the need to use a hazardous waste site.• It's a good idea to recycle household waste.• the icy wastes of Antarctica• Industrial waste had leaked into the water supply.• Too much waste has been dumped into the North Sea.• The costs of waste disposal are rising all the time.• The committee will study the issue of waste in state spending.• The site is expected to begin receiving waste during the next few weeks.• Music became the voice of opposition to the war and its senseless waste of life, and effectively found itself a conscience.• Specially engineered vaults should be constructed so that the waste could be regularly monitored and, if necessary, retrieved.• The government has announced a ban on all imports of toxic waste from abroad.What a waste• Four people went in before Alice. What a waste of time.• They spend most of their time on the two-years-and-under crowd. What a waste.• None gave the Tories a hope of being elected with a working majority. What a waste of time and money.• There was to be more submission. What a waste of life!wastewaste2 ●●● S2 W3 verb [transitive] 1 not use sensiblyWASTE something to use more money, time, energy etc than is useful or sensible Leaving the heating on all the time wastes electricity.waste something on somebody/something Don’t waste your money on that junk!2 not use fully to not make full use of someone or something Hannah is wasted in that clerical job. His talents were being wasted as a lawyer.Grammar Waste is usually passive in this meaning.3 → be wasted on somebody4 → waste your breath5 → waste no time (in) doing something6 → waste not, want not7 harm somebody American English informalINJUREBEAT/DEFEAT to kill someone, severely injure them, or defeat them → waste away→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
waste• I wasted 40 minutes waiting for a bus this morning.• You actually hope the time and money spent on insurance will be wasted.• Bill wastes all his money on beer and cigarettes.• He had a remote manner and didn't waste an atom of energy talking to anyone on the set except Zimmer.• The school kitchen wastes an awful lot of food.• Let's not waste any more time on this.• By fencing money into line items, in other words, we waste billions of dollars every year.• I felt enough time had been wasted, but time didn't seem to mean anything to Brando.• Don't leave the light on - you're wasting electricity.• Sometimes she feels she's wasted her life.• Back in the United States, Alvin wasted no time in proposing ways of doing that on future modern dance tours.• She wasted no time in writing to me and commanding me to return home at once.• One of the men threatened to waste the bank teller if he didn't get the money.• Stop wasting time. We have to finish this by five o'clock.• I must have wasted two whole hours trying to fix this machine.• The guests with a morning to waste until the ceremony at two o'clock got under everyone's feet.• Letting the water run while you brush your teeth wastes water.waste something on somebody/something• I can't believe you wasted $500 on a new dress!wastewaste3 ●●○ W3 adjective [only before noun] 1 SGwaste materials, substances etc are unwanted because the good part of them has been removed2 SGAREAwaste land is empty or not looked after by anyone → wasteland, → lay waste at lay2(11)Examples from the Corpus
waste• Nor are waste dumps the only things being shaken-up.• Inefficient recovery practices have left metal-rich waste dumps which have often been levelled or used as roadstone.• The waste form and the cannister should act as barriers for 1000 years each.• Beyond the rearing buildings the waste ground was empty.• In 1875 and 1876 the Corporation purchased 3,000 acres of the open waste lands of the forest manors.• The waters off North Carolina host numerous fish, a potential biological vector for transport of waste materials.• a sewage waste pipe• a waste tankFrom Longman Business Dictionarywastewaste1 /weɪst/ noun1[uncountable] unwanted materials or substances that are left after a particular processThe factory’s byproduct waste is used to feed pigs.illegal disposal ofhazardous wasteOur primary business is industrial waste collection, treatment and disposal services.government guidelines fortoxic waste disposal2[singular, uncountable] things such as money or skills that should be used effectively, but are notTry as he might, the new manager couldn’t overcome the waste and inefficiency that had plagued the plant for years.Sales of natural gas at present prices would be awaste of companyassets. —waste adjective [only before a noun]the recycling of waste materialswastewaste2 verb [transitive] to use more of something, especially time or money, than you need to, or use it in a way that is not sensibleA prominent economist has suggested that the government wasted $200 billion during the oil-price boom.We waste a lot of time and legal fees on defending our trademarks rather than tending to business.→ See Verb tableOrigin waste1 1. (1200-1300) → WASTE22. (1100-1200) Old North French wast, from wast (adjective); → WASTE3 waste2 (1200-1300) Old North French waster, from Latin vastare; → DEVASTATE waste3 (1200-1300) Old North French wast, from Latin vastus; → VAST 