wasted space

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   An area or room that is not used well, so it serves no useful purpose.

   Grammar: No plural; use it with the or no article: that corner is wasted space.

   Patterns

   • be wasted space
   • create wasted space
   • avoid wasted space

   The hallway is so wide that half of it is wasted space.

   We moved the shelves to avoid wasted space above the door.

   The kitchen has a lot of wasted space behind the fridge.

2. 2noununcountable

   Words, images, or content that take up room without adding useful information.

   Grammar: Often used about writing, websites, or slides: cut the wasted space.

   Patterns

   • cut wasted space
   • remove wasted space
   • be wasted space on a page

   The editor removed two paragraphs of wasted space.

   Your slides have too much wasted space at the bottom.

   That huge banner is wasted space on the homepage.

Common combinations

a lot of wasted space

There is a lot of wasted space in this old house.

avoid wasted space

Good planners avoid wasted space in small apartments.

cut wasted space

The designer cut wasted space from the menu.

wasted space on the page

The report has wasted space on the page because the margins are too big.

Synonyms and how they differ

empty space

Empty space is simply space with nothing in it; wasted space suggests that the empty area should have been used.

dead space

Dead space is similar but more technical and often means an area that cannot be used at all.

Opposites

Word family

waste verb

To use something badly or lose an opportunity.

wasteful adjective

Using more than necessary; not careful with resources.

Commonly confused: wasted space or waste space?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “wasted space”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words