/ weɪst; NAmE / verb , noun , adjective
■ verb
[ vn ]
NOT USE WELL
1.
waste sth (on sth) | waste sth (in) doing sth to use more of sth than is necessary or useful :
to waste time / food / energy
Why waste money on clothes you don't need?
She wasted no time in rejecting the offer (= she rejected it immediately) .
You're wasting your time trying to explain it to him (= because he will not understand) .
2.
waste sth (on sb/sth) to give, say, use, etc. sth good where it is not valued or used in the way that it should be :
Don't waste your sympathy on him—he got what he deserved.
Her comments were not wasted on Chris (= he understood what she meant) .
3.
[ usually passive ] to not make good or full use of sb/sth :
It was a wasted opportunity.
You're wasted as a sales manager—you should have been an actor.
KILL SB
4.
( informal , especially NAmE ) to get rid of sb, usually by killing them
DEFEAT SB
5.
( NAmE , informal ) to defeat sb very badly in a game or competition
•
IDIOMS
- waste your breath
- waste not, want not
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- waste away
■ noun
NOT GOOD USE
1.
[ U , sing. ] waste (of sth) the act of using sth in a careless or unnecessary way, causing it to be lost or destroyed :
I hate unnecessary waste.
It seems such a waste to throw good food away.
I hate to see good food go to waste (= be thrown away) .
The report is critical of the department's waste of resources.
What a waste of paper!
2.
[ sing. ] a situation in which it is not worth spending time, money, etc. on sth :
These meetings are a complete waste of time .
They believe the statue is a waste of taxpayers' money.
MATERIALS
3.
[ U ] (also wastes [ pl. ]) materials that are no longer needed and are thrown away :
household / industrial waste
toxic wastes
waste disposal (= the process of getting rid of waste)
LAND
4.
wastes [ pl. ] ( formal ) a large area of land where there are very few people, animals or plants :
the frozen wastes of Siberia
•
IDIOMS
- a waste of space
■ adjective
[ usually before noun ]
LAND
1.
not suitable for building or growing things on and therefore not used
SYN derelict :
The car was found on a piece of waste ground.
MATERIALS
2.
no longer needed for a particular process and therefore thrown away :
Waste water is pumped from the factory into a nearby river.
•
IDIOMS
- lay sth waste | lay waste (to) sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old Northern French wast(e) (noun), waster (verb), based on Latin vastus unoccupied, uncultivated.