Meaning & use
binman
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Meanings
nouncountableBritishinformal
Someone whose job is to collect the rubbish from people's homes and take it away.
Grammar: Countable noun: use a/an or the, and the irregular plural binmen.
Patterns
- a binman
- the binmen
The binmen come early on Tuesday mornings.
Our binman always waves at the kids on the street.
She worked as a binman for the city council for ten years.
nouncountableBritish
A worker employed to empty and clean large public bins in a town or park.
Grammar: Used for council workers generally, not only household collections; plural binmen.
Patterns
- a binman
- the binmen
A binman was emptying the bins along the seafront.
The park binmen start work before the gates open.
Word forms
| plural | binmen |
|---|
Common combinations
- the binmen come
- The binmen come on Mondays, so put the bin out on Sunday night.
- bin day
- Don't forget it's bin day tomorrow.
- work as a binman
- He worked as a binman before training as a plumber.
- the binmen are on strike
- The binmen are on strike, so the rubbish is piling up.
Synonyms and how they differ
- refuse collector
- A more formal British term used in job advertisements and official writing.
- garbage collector
- The usual American equivalent; use this with American readers.
- dustman
- An older British word for the same job, now less common and slightly old-fashioned.
Word family
- bin noun
- A container for rubbish, especially the large one kept outside a house.
Commonly confused: binman or barman?
binman vs barman
A barman serves drinks in a pub or bar; a binman collects rubbish. The two words differ by one letter, so check the spelling.
Practice
Which sentence uses the correct plural form?
Choose one answer.
Binman has the irregular plural binmen, like man → men, so 'The binmen collect' is correct. 'Binmans' wrongly adds -s, and 'binman collect' breaks subject–verb agreement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “binman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.