Waste

Pronunciation

• enPR: wāst, IPA: /weɪst/
• Rhymes: -eɪst
• Homophones: waist

From Middle English waste (noun, "a waste"), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast, waste ("a waste"), from Old Frankish *wuasti, *wuosti ("a waste") and *wōstin, *wōstinna ("a waste, wasteland, desert"), from Proto-Germanic *wōstī ("a waste"), *wōstinjō ("a waste, wasteland"), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- ("empty, wasted"). Cognate with Old High German wuosti, wuasti

Modern German Wüste}, Old High German wuostinna ("a desert, waste"), Old English wēsten ("a waste, wasteland"). Non Germanic cognates include Latin vastus ("waste, desert") and Albanian vjeshtë ("autumn").

Full definition of waste

Noun

1. A waste land; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.
2. A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.
3. A large tract of uncultivated land.
4. A vast expanse of water.
5. A disused mine or part of one.
6. The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.That was a waste of timeHer life seemed a waste
7. Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.
8. Gradual loss or decay.
9. A decaying of the body by disease; wasting away.
10. (rare) Destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; See "to lay waste"
11. Excess of material, useless by-products or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
12. ExcrementThe cage was littered with animal waste
13. (legal) A cause of action which may be brought by the owner of a future interest in property against the current owner of that property to prevent the current owner from degrading the value or character of the property, either intentionally or through neglect.

Derived terms

From Middle English waste (adjective, "waste"), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast ("waste"), from Old Frankish *wuasti, *wuosti ("waste, empty"), from Proto-Germanic *wōstijaz ("wasted, abandoned, empty"), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- ("empty, wasted"). Cognate with Old High German wuosti, wuasti ("waste, empty"), Old Saxon wōsti ("desolate"), Old English wēste ("waste, barren, desolate, empty").

Adjective

1. (now rare) Uncultivated, uninhabited.
• 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XIII:So whan Sir Galahad was departed frome the Castell of Maydyns he rode tyll he com to a waste forest ....
2. Barren; desert.
• 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 255:For centuries the shrine at Mecca had been of merely local importance, far outshone by the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, whose cult Christians had in good measure renewed by their pilgrimage in honour of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, while leaving the actual site of the Jerusalem Temple dishonoured and waste.
3. Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.
• 2013, Katie L. Burke, In the News, Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.
4. Superfluous; needless.
5. Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
• Sir Walter ScottHis heart became appalled as he gazed forward into the waste darkness of futurity.
6. Unfortunate; disappointing.

Usage notes

Same meanings as wasted.

Derived terms

From Middle English wasten ("to waste, lay waste"), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French waster ("to waste, devastate") (cf. also the variant gaster and French gâter from a related Old French word); the Anglo-Norman form waster was either from Old Frankish *wuastan, *wuostan, *wuostjan ("to lay waste, devastate"), from Proto-Germanic *wōstijaną ("to waste"), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- ("empty, wasted"), or alternatively from Latin vastāre, present active infinitive of vastō and influenced by the Frankish; the English word was assisted by similarity to native Middle English westen

English weest}. Cognate with Old High German wuostan, wuastan, wuostjan

Modern German wüsten}, Old English wēstan ("to lay waste, ravage").

Verb

1. (transitive, now rare) To devastate or destroy.
• SpenserThou barren ground, whom winter's wrath hath wasted,
  Art made a mirror to behold my plight.
• DrydenThe Tiber
  Insults our walls, and wastes our fruitful grounds.
2. (transitive) To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.
• Bible, Numbers xiv. 33until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness
• RobertsonWasted by such a course of life, the infirmities of age daily grew on him.
3. (transitive) To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.
• GrayFull many a flower is born to blush unseen,
  And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
• 2013-06-01, Ideas coming down the track, A “moving platform” scheme...is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails....This set-up solves several problems …. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?
4. E. Kay (1822-1897), afterwards Lord Justice of Appeal, had rooms on the same staircase as myself, and we wasted a great deal of time together, both in term and in my second summer vacation. 1909. Francis Galton, Memories of my life, p. 69.
   We wasted millions of dollars and several years on that project.
5. (transitive, slang) To kill; to murder.
6. (intransitive) Gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
7. (intransitive) To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.
• Bible, 1 Kings xvii. 14The barrel of meal shall not waste.
8. (legal) To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• sweat
• tawse
• wetas