waste

adjective

1. located in a dismal or remote area; desolate

- waste places

Similar word(s): inhospitable, godforsaken, wild

noun

1. any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted

- they collect the waste once a week

- much of the waste material is carried off in the sewers

Definition categories: substance, material, stuff

2. useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly

- if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste

Similar word(s): dissipation, wastefulness

Definition categories: act, activity

3. the trait of wasting resources

- a life characterized by thriftlessness and waste

- the wastefulness of missed opportunities

Similar word(s): thriftlessness, wastefulness

Definition categories: attribute, improvidence, shortsightedness

4. an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation

- the trackless wastes of the desert

Similar word(s): barren, wasteland

Definition categories: location, wild, wilderness

5. (law) reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect

Definition categories: act, deed

verb

1. spend thoughtlessly; throw away

- He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends

Similar word(s): blow, squander

Definition categories: possession, expend, use

2. use inefficiently or inappropriately

- waste heat

- waste a joke on an unappreciative audience

Definition categories: consumption, apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize

3. get rid of

- We waste the dirty water by channeling it into the sewer

Definition categories: possession, discard, dispose, fling, toss

4. run off as waste

- The water wastes back into the ocean

Definition categories: motion, course, feed, flow, run

5. get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing

Similar word(s): liquidate, neutralise, neutralize

Definition categories: contact, kill

6. spend extravagantly

- waste not, want not

Similar word(s): consume, squander, ware

Definition categories: consumption, drop, expend, spend

7. lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief

Similar word(s): languish

Definition categories: change, weaken

8. cause to grow thin or weak

Similar word(s): emaciate, macerate

Definition categories: change, debilitate, drain, enfeeble

9. cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly

- The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion

Similar word(s): desolate, devastate, ravage, scourge

Definition categories: change, destroy, ruin

10. become physically weaker

Similar word(s): rot

Definition categories: body, degenerate, deteriorate, devolve, drop