Meaning & use
salvage yard
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A place where damaged or unwanted vehicles and machines are kept, taken apart, and sold for parts or metal.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or a plural: a salvage yard, several salvage yards.
Patterns
- take something to a salvage yard
- find a part at a salvage yard
- work in a salvage yard
He bought a used door for his old truck at a salvage yard.
The insurance company sent the wrecked car to a salvage yard.
She spent the morning walking around a salvage yard looking for a cheap engine.
nouncountable
A business that buys and resells used or damaged goods, especially building materials and machine parts.
Grammar: Countable and often used with a name: Miller's Salvage Yard.
Patterns
- a salvage yard that sells something
- buy something from a salvage yard
The salvage yard sells old bricks, pipes, and window frames.
We found a beautiful wooden door at a salvage yard outside town.
Word forms
| plural | salvage yards |
|---|
Common combinations
- a local salvage yard
- The local salvage yard pays cash for old cars.
- a car salvage yard
- A car salvage yard is a good place to look for cheap parts.
- take a car to a salvage yard
- They took the car to a salvage yard after the accident.
- scrap metal at a salvage yard
- Workers sort scrap metal at the salvage yard.
- a salvage yard owner
- The salvage yard owner knew every part of that engine.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scrapyard
- The usual British word for the same kind of place, often suggesting more crushing of metal.
- junkyard
- More informal and broader; it can hold any old junk, not only vehicles and machines.
- breaker's yard
- British and specific to cars that are broken up for parts.
Word family
Commonly confused: salvage yard or junkyard?
salvage yard vs junkyard
A junkyard holds all kinds of waste; a salvage yard usually deals in vehicles, machines, and reusable parts.
Practice
Which sentence uses "salvage yard" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A salvage yard is a place where vehicles and machines are broken up and their parts sold, so taking a damaged car there fits. The other options use the phrase in situations where it makes no sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “salvage yard”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.