waste

/wˈeɪst/ · 1 syllable

Meaning

noun

any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
“they collect the waste once a week”
useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly
“if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste”
the trait of wasting resources
“a life characterized by thriftlessness and waste”
an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation
“the barrens of central Africa”
(law) reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect

verb

spend thoughtlessly; throw away
“He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends”
use inefficiently or inappropriately
“waste heat”
get rid of
“We waste the dirty water by channeling it into the sewer”
run off as waste
“The water wastes back into the ocean”
get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing
“The mafia liquidated the informer”
spend extravagantly
“waste not, want not”
lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
“After her husband died, she just pined away”
cause to grow thin or weak
“The treatment emaciated him”
cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
“The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion”
become physically weaker
“Political prisoners are wasting away in many prisons all over the world”

adjective

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