trash

[trash] /træʃ/
noun
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.
Computers. an icon of a trash can that is used to delete files dragged onto it.
verb (used with object)
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.
Origin
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.
British Dictionary definitions for trash

trash1

/træʃ/
noun
1.
foolish ideas or talk; nonsense
2.
(mainly US & Canadian) useless or unwanted matter or objects
3.
a literary or artistic production of poor quality
4.
(mainly US & Canadian) 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
7.
to remove the outer leaves and branches from (growing plants, esp sugar cane)
8.
(slang) to attack or destroy (someone or something) wilfully or maliciously
Derived Forms
trashery, noun
Word Origin
C16: of obscure origin; perhaps related to Norwegian trask

trash2

/træʃ/
verb
1.
(transitive) to restrain with or as if with a lead
noun
2.
a lead for a dog
Word Origin
C17: perhaps from obsolete French tracier to track, trace1
Word Origin and History for trash
n.

"anything of little use or value," late 14c., perhaps from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse tros "rubbish, fallen leaves and twigs," Norwegian dialectal trask "lumber, trash, baggage," Swedish trasa "rags, tatters"), of unknown origin. Applied to ill-bred persons or groups from 1604 ("Othello"). Applied to domestic refuse or garbage in 1906 (American English).

v.

"to discard as worthless," 1895, from trash (n.); in the sense of "destroy, vandalize" it is attested from 1970; extended to "criticize severely" in 1975. Related: Trashed; trashing.

Slang definitions & phrases for trash

trash

noun

A despicable, ill-bred person or group: Don't mind them, they're just trash (1604+)

verb
  1. To vandalize; mutilate or destroy, sometimes as an act of political protest; waste: They have also made it a practice to ''trash'' (wreck) restaurants, publishing houses, and other businesses that discriminate against the third world of sex/ One year we were trashed three times (1970+)
  2. To vilify; excoriate; bad-mouth, dump on: the other mayoralty that Koch likes to trash whenever he gets the chance/ Much given to the rave-pan approach to her craft, she can trash in a flash (1975+)
  3. To scavenge discarded furniture and other items that have been thrown away (1960s+)
Related Terms

white trash

[noun sense fr white trash, a black term of opprobrium]


trash in Technology


To destroy, e.g. the contents of a data structure. The most common of the family of near-synonyms including mung, mangle, and scribble.
[Jargon File]
(1994-11-03)