Meaning & use
bin bag
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A strong plastic bag used for collecting household rubbish so that it can be carried out and thrown away.
Grammar: Has a plural: two bin bags. Often used with full or black.
Patterns
- a bin bag of something
- put something in a bin bag
She stuffed the old magazines into a bin bag and dragged it to the curb.
We ran out of bin bags, so the kitchen rubbish stayed on the floor overnight.
After the party he filled three bin bags with paper cups and plates.
Word forms
| plural | bin bags |
|---|
Common combinations
- a black bin bag
- The clothes for the charity shop went into a black bin bag.
- fill a bin bag
- It took us an hour to fill a bin bag with garden weeds.
- tie up a bin bag
- Tie up the bin bag tightly so the smell does not escape.
- a roll of bin bags
- Buy a roll of bin bags when you are at the supermarket.
- a bin bag full of something
- There was a bin bag full of torn wrapping paper by the door.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bin liner
- A bin liner sits inside a bin to keep it clean, whereas a bin bag can also be any sack used to carry rubbish.
- trash bag
- This is the usual American term, and it sounds foreign in British speech.
- garbage bag
- Like trash bag, it is American; a British speaker would say bin bag instead.
- refuse sack
- This is a more official, council-style phrase for a large heavy-duty bag.
Word family
Commonly confused: bin bag or carrier bag?
bin bag vs carrier bag
A carrier bag is a shop bag for carrying purchases home, while a bin bag is meant for rubbish.
Practice
Which sentence uses bin bag correctly?
Choose one answer.
A bin bag is a plastic sack for rubbish, so carrying out a full one fits. The other options treat it as food packaging, clothing or luggage, which does not match its purpose.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bin bag”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.