Meaning & use
fly tipping
Last updated
UK/ˈflaɪ ˌtɪpɪŋ/
US/ˈflaɪ ˌtɪpɪŋ/
Meaning
noununcountable
The illegal dumping of rubbish, such as old furniture or building waste, in a public place instead of at an authorized site.
Grammar: No plural: fly tipping is a crime.
Patterns
- fly tipping of something
Fly tipping has blighted the lane behind the school.
The council fined him for fly tipping a sofa.
Residents reported an increase in fly tipping last winter.
Common combinations
- illegal fly tipping
- Illegal fly tipping can bring a heavy fine.
- report fly tipping
- Report fly tipping through the council website.
- cases of fly tipping
- Cases of fly tipping rose during the lockdown.
- clear up fly tipping
- Volunteers helped clear up fly tipping by the river.
- fly tipping hotspot
- The car park became a fly tipping hotspot.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dumping
- Dumping is the general word for getting rid of waste, and fly tipping is the specific illegal version.
- littering
- Littering means dropping small items, while fly tipping involves large loads.
- illegal dumping
- Illegal dumping is the American equivalent and means the same.
- trashing
- Trashing is informal and can mean any damage, not only waste disposal.
Word family
- fly-tipper noun
- A person who dumps waste illegally.
- fly-tip verb
- To dump rubbish illegally.
- fly-tipped adjective
- Describing rubbish that has been illegally dumped.
Commonly confused: fly tipping or fly fishing?
fly tipping vs fly fishing
Fly fishing is a way of catching fish with artificial flies; it has no link with waste.
Practice
Fly tipping is best described as:
Choose one answer.
Fly tipping is unlawful dumping. Recycling and collecting litter are legal and helpful, so they do not match.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fly tipping”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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