rubbish
[noun]
Synonyms:
- waste, garbage (chiefly U.S.), junk (informal), litter, lumber, refuse, scrap, trash
- nonsense, claptrap (informal), codswallop (Brit. slang), garbage (chiefly U.S.), hogwash, hot air (informal), rot, tommyrot, trash, tripe (informal), twaddle

---

English Thesaurus: refuse, say no, turn somebody/something down, reject, decline, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. rub‧bish¹ S2 /ˈrʌbɪʃ/ noun [uncountable] especially British English
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: rubbous, perhaps from Old French robe; ⇒ robe]

1. food, paper etc that is no longer needed and has been thrown away Synonym : garbage, trash American English:
a rubbish bin
household rubbish
rubbish tip/dump (=a place to take rubbish)

2. informal objects, papers etc that you no longer use and should throw away:
I’ve got so much rubbish on my desk it’s unbelievable.

3. informal an idea, statement, etc that is rubbish is silly or wrong and does not deserve serious attention Synonym : nonsense, garbage American English:
You do talk rubbish sometimes.
That’s a load of rubbish.
The suggestion is absolute rubbish.
rubbish! spoken (=used to tell someone that what they have just said is completely wrong)

4. informal a film, book etc that is rubbish is very bad:
the usual Hollywood rubbish

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. rubbish² verb [transitive]
British English to say something is bad or useless

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. rubbish³ adjective British English informal
not skilful at a particular activity:
a rubbish team

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

rubbish
noun
I. waste material
ADJ. domestic, household | garden
QUANT. bag, pile | tons
VERB + RUBBISH put out I forgot to put the rubbish out last night.
collect, remove, take away The rubbish is collected on Tuesdays.
clear (out), dispose of, dump, throw (away/out) He's clearing rubbish out of the attic. Someone had dumped their rubbish by the road. Throw the rubbish in the bin.
leave, strew (around) There was rubbish strewn around everywhere.
pick up
RUBBISH + VERB decay, rot
RUBBISH + NOUN bag, bin, skip | dump, heap, tip | collection, disposal | chute

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

rubbish
II. sth that you think is bad/silly/wrong
ADJ. absolute, complete, total, utter The film was absolute rubbish.
worthless Many critics see the paintings as worthless rubbish.
old The antique shop was just full of old rubbish.
VERB + RUBBISH talk Don't talk such rubbish!
PREP. ~ about the usual rubbish about his undiscovered talents
PHRASES a load of (old) rubbish, What rubbish!

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

refuse to say firmly that you will not do something that someone has asked you to do:
I asked the bank for a loan, but they refused.
When they refused to leave, we had to call the police.
say no spoken to say that you will not do something when someone asks you:
They asked me so nicely that I couldn’t really say no.
turn somebody/something down to refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or a formal request:
They offered me the job but I turned it down.
The board turned down a request for $25,000 to sponsor an art exhibition.
I’ve already been turned down by three colleges.
reject to refuse to accept an idea, offer, suggestion, or plan:
They rejected the idea because it would cost too much money.
The Senate rejected a proposal to limit the program to two years.
decline formal to politely refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or refuse to do something:
She has declined all offers of help.
A palace spokesman declined to comment on the rumours.
deny to refuse to allow someone to do something or enter somewhere:
They were denied permission to publish the book.
He was denied access to the US.
veto to officially refuse to allow a law or plan, or to refuse to accept someone’s suggestion:
Congress vetoed the bill.
The suggestion was quickly vetoed by the other members of the team.
disallow to officially refuse to accept something because someone has broken the rules, or not done it in the correct way:
The goal was disallowed by the referee.
The court decided to disallow his evidence.
rebuff formal to refuse to accept someone’s offer, request, or suggestion:
The company raised its offer to $6 billion, but was rebuffed.
He was politely rebuffed when he suggested holding the show in Dublin.
give somebody/something the thumbs down informal to refuse to allow or accept a plan or suggestion:
The plan was given the thumbs down by the local authority.
They gave us the thumbs down.
rubbish especially British English things that people throw away, such as old food, dirty paper etc:
People are being encouraged to recycle their household rubbish.
the rubbish bin
garbage/trash American English rubbish:
The garbage is collected every Tuesday.
There were piles of trash in the backyard.
a black plastic garbage bag
litter empty bottles, pieces of paper etc that people have dropped on the ground:
Parents should teach children not to drop litter.
There was a lot of litter on the beach.
waste rubbish, or materials that need to be dealt with after they have been used in industrial processes:
nuclear waste
toxic waste
household waste
The company was fined for dumping toxic waste in the sea.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rubbish especially British English things that people throw away, such as old food, dirty paper etc:
People are being encouraged to recycle their household rubbish.
the rubbish bin
garbage/trash American English rubbish:
The garbage is collected every Tuesday.
There were piles of trash in the backyard.
a black plastic garbage bag
refuse formal rubbish:
The strike has disrupted refuse collection.
It’s a site which is used for domestic refuse.
litter empty bottles, pieces of paper etc that people have dropped on the ground:
Parents should teach children not to drop litter.
There was a lot of litter on the beach.
waste rubbish, or materials that need to be dealt with after they have been used in industrial processes:
nuclear waste
toxic waste
household waste
The company was fined for dumping toxic waste in the sea.
destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired:
The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.
The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it:
Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.
The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident:
The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.
The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing:
The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building:
The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.
They just wrecked the place.
trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc:
Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains:
The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely:
The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed:
Fungus may ruin the crop.
The new houses will ruin the view.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲