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# waste

«waste» in Mova's school dictionary: **rubbish: things that are thrown away because they are not…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (waste, wastes); verb (waste, wastes, wasted, wasting); adjective (waste)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Waste is rubbish: things that are thrown away because they are not wanted. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#m1)

2) A waste is something used badly or for nothing: a waste of time, a waste of money. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#m2)

3) To waste means to use more than you need, or to use something for nothing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#m3)

4) Waste land is land that is empty and not used. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In maths: what is thrown away or lost: leftover cloth, wasted water, time or money; taken away from the total: useful = total − waste; waste per day over many days needs multiplying. In science and caring for the planet: reduce, reuse, recycle; food waste; body waste. Phrases: a waste of time, waste paper, waste bin, food waste, go to waste, waste water.

### examples

- He wasted 20 minutes waiting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x1)
- The family makes 5 kg of waste a week. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x2)
- Of 10 m of cloth, 1 m is waste. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x3)
- Do not waste paper. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x4)
- Put the waste in the right recycling bin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x5)
- Do not let the food go to waste. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x6)
- Arguing about it is a waste of time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x7)
- Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth saves wasted water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x8)
- But there is no time to waste. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/#x9)

### note

Homophone: «waist» (the middle of your body) sounds the same. Waste is taken away: useful = total − waste. Trap: waste per day over many days needs multiplying.

### In the corpora

- [Living plants use up some fish waste, add oxygen in the light and give fish places to hide.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/203-the-fish-tank-water-gills-heaters-and-the-right-neighbours/15/)
- [Brown rats live wherever people live; they eat our waste and shelter in drains, sewers and buildings.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/222-rats-and-mice-in-the-city-and-the-elephant-and-mouse-myth/6/)
- [So nothing is wasted: summer grass becomes winter food, winter muck becomes spring fertiliser, and the next year starts again.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/349-a-year-on-a-farm-lambing-haymaking-harvest-and-winter-feeding/7/)
- [Poo and wee are not just waste.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/398-poo-wee-and-smells-rabbits-that-eat-their-droppings-dung-beetles-and-the-smelliest-animals/3/)
- [«Pooh! boating!» says Toad — a silly waste of time; he has found «the real thing».](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/30-willows-ch2-part2-the-canary-coloured-cart/4/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «waste» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/waste/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.