trash

UK: /ˈtræʃ/ US: /træʃ/ ,(trash)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

trash /træʃ/   n. 

[uncountable]
1. anything worthless or thrown away;
   rubbish:
   The town collects trash on Wednesdays.
2. foolish ideas or talk;
   nonsense.
3. a worthless person or persons:
   the sort of trash who would steal candy from a baby.
4. poor or inferior writing, art, or music.

v. [~ + object]

5. to destroy or vandalize, as in anger or protest:
   on a rampage trashing the downtown shopping area.
6. to criticize or declare to be worthless:
   The critics trashed all of this week's new movies.
7. Informal. to discard, as garbage or rubbish:
   trashed the empty beer cans.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

trash (trash),  n. 

1. anything worthless, useless, or discarded;
   rubbish.
2. foolish or pointless ideas, talk, or writing;
   nonsense.
3. a worthless or disreputable person.
4. such persons collectively.
5. literary or artistic material of poor or inferior quality.
6. broken or torn bits, as twigs, splinters, rags, or the like.
7. something that is broken or lopped off from anything in preparing it for use.
8. the refuse of sugar cane after the juice has been expressed.
9. Computing an icon of a trash can that is used to delete files dragged onto it.

v.t. 

10. [Slang.] to destroy, damage, or vandalize, as in anger or protest:
    The slovenly renters had trashed the house.
11. to condemn, dismiss, or criticize as worthless:
    The article trashed several recent best-sellers.
12. to remove the outer leaves of (a growing sugar cane plant).
13. to free from superfluous twigs or branches.

• 1325–75; Middle English trasches (plural), apparently cognate with Norwegian trask rubbish; akin to Old English trus brushwood, Old Norse tros rubbish

Synonyms

• 5. drivel, rot, hogwash, nonsense.

trash, +n. 

1. Computing an icon of a trash can that is used to delete files dragged onto it.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

trash / træʃ/ noun

1. foolish ideas or talk; nonsense
2. useless or unwanted matter or objects
3. a literary or artistic production of poor quality
4. a poor or worthless person or a group of such people
5. bits that are broken or lopped off, esp the trimmings from trees or plants
6. the dry remains of sugar cane after the juice has been extracted

verb

1. to remove the outer leaves and branches from (growing plants, esp sugar cane)
2. to attack or destroy (someone or something) wilfully or maliciously

Etymology: 16th Century: of obscure origin; perhaps related to Norwegian trask