waste
♦♦ waste /w'eɪst/ (wastes wasting wasted)
1 [VERB] V n -ing, V n on n, V n
If you waste something such as time, money, or energy, you use too much of it doing something that is not important or necessary, or is unlikely to succeed.
There could be many reasons and he was not going to waste time speculating on them...
I resolved not to waste money on a hotel...
The system wastes a large amount of water.
[N-SING] a N of n
Waste is also a noun.
It is a waste of time going to the doctor with most mild complaints...
I think that is a total waste of money.
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
Waste is the use of money or other resources on things that do not need it.
The packets are measured to reduce waste...
I hate waste.
3 [N-UNCOUNT] also N in pl
Waste is material which has been used and is no longer wanted, for example because the valuable or useful part of it has been taken out.
Congress passed a law that regulates the disposal of waste...
Up to 10 million tonnes of toxic wastes are produced every year in the UK.
...the process of eliminating body waste.
4 [VERB] V n, V-ed
If you waste an opportunity for something, you do not take advantage of it when it is available.
Let's not waste an opportunity to see the children...
It was a wasted opportunity.
5 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
Waste land is land, especially in or near a city, which is not used or looked after by anyone, and so is covered by wild plants and rubbish.
Yarrow can be found growing wild in fields and on waste ground.
6 [N-PLURAL] adj N, N of n
Wastes are a large area of land, for example a desert, in which there are very few people, plants, or animals.
...the barren wastes of the Sahara.
7
see also wasted
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If something goes to waste, it remains unused or has to be thrown away.
Mexican cookery is economical, she says. Nothing goes to waste.
9
to waste no time: see timewaste away
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If someone wastes away, they become extremely thin or weak because they are ill or worried and they are not eating properly.
Persons dying from cancer grow thin and visibly waste away.waste dis|pos|al (waste disposals)
[N-COUNT]
A waste disposal or a waste disposal unit is a small machine in a kitchen sink that chops up vegetable waste. (BRIT; in AM, use garbage disposal)
1 [VERB] V n -ing, V n on n, V n
If you waste something such as time, money, or energy, you use too much of it doing something that is not important or necessary, or is unlikely to succeed.
There could be many reasons and he was not going to waste time speculating on them...
I resolved not to waste money on a hotel...
The system wastes a large amount of water.
[N-SING] a N of n
Waste is also a noun.
It is a waste of time going to the doctor with most mild complaints...
I think that is a total waste of money.
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
Waste is the use of money or other resources on things that do not need it.
The packets are measured to reduce waste...
I hate waste.
3 [N-UNCOUNT] also N in pl
Waste is material which has been used and is no longer wanted, for example because the valuable or useful part of it has been taken out.
Congress passed a law that regulates the disposal of waste...
Up to 10 million tonnes of toxic wastes are produced every year in the UK.
...the process of eliminating body waste.
4 [VERB] V n, V-ed
If you waste an opportunity for something, you do not take advantage of it when it is available.
Let's not waste an opportunity to see the children...
It was a wasted opportunity.
5 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
Waste land is land, especially in or near a city, which is not used or looked after by anyone, and so is covered by wild plants and rubbish.
Yarrow can be found growing wild in fields and on waste ground.
6 [N-PLURAL] adj N, N of n
Wastes are a large area of land, for example a desert, in which there are very few people, plants, or animals.
...the barren wastes of the Sahara.
7
see also wasted
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If something goes to waste, it remains unused or has to be thrown away.
Mexican cookery is economical, she says. Nothing goes to waste.
9
to waste no time: see timewaste away
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If someone wastes away, they become extremely thin or weak because they are ill or worried and they are not eating properly.
Persons dying from cancer grow thin and visibly waste away.waste dis|pos|al (waste disposals)
[N-COUNT]
A waste disposal or a waste disposal unit is a small machine in a kitchen sink that chops up vegetable waste. (BRIT; in AM, use garbage disposal)