Meaning & use
wastepaper basket
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A small open container kept in a room, usually near a desk, for throwing away paper and other light rubbish.
Grammar: Countable: one wastepaper basket, two wastepaper baskets.
Patterns
- throw something in the wastepaper basket
- empty the wastepaper basket
She crumpled the letter and tossed it into the wastepaper basket.
The cleaner empties every wastepaper basket in the office at night.
There is a wastepaper basket under the desk.
nouncountablefigurativeinformal
A place where ideas or plans end up when they are rejected or ignored, used in the phrase on the wastepaper basket.
Grammar: Used figuratively, usually with the: the proposal went into the wastepaper basket.
Patterns
- something goes in the wastepaper basket
His first draft went straight into the wastepaper basket.
The committee consigned the idea to the wastepaper basket.
Word forms
| plural | wastepaper baskets |
|---|
Common combinations
- empty the wastepaper basket
- Remember to empty the wastepaper basket before you leave.
- toss into the wastepaper basket
- He tossed the junk mail into the wastepaper basket.
- overflowing wastepaper basket
- An overflowing wastepaper basket stood by the printer.
- under the desk
- The wastepaper basket sits under the desk.
- wicker wastepaper basket
- She bought a wicker wastepaper basket for the study.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wastebasket
- Wastebasket is the common American term and is a little shorter and less formal than wastepaper basket.
- trash can
- Trash can is American and suggests a bigger container often used for all kinds of rubbish, not just paper.
- bin
- Bin is the everyday British word and can mean any rubbish container, while a wastepaper basket is specifically a small one for paper.
- litter bin
- A litter bin is placed in public places for litter, while a wastepaper basket is used indoors.
Word family
Commonly confused: wastepaper basket or recycling bin?
wastepaper basket vs recycling bin
A recycling bin collects items to be reused. A wastepaper basket is for rubbish that will be thrown away.
Practice
He read the note, frowned, and dropped it into the ___.
Choose one answer.
A wastepaper basket is where you throw away paper you no longer want. A filing cabinet is for keeping papers, which is the opposite of the frown and drop.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wastepaper basket”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.