Meaning & use
wheelie bin
Last updated
UK/ˈwiːli bɪn/
US/ˈwili bɪn/
Meaning
nouncountable
A large rubbish container with two wheels and a hinged lid, pushed or pulled to the roadside for collection.
Grammar: Countable: put out the wheelie bin.
Patterns
- put out the wheelie bin
- empty the wheelie bin
Remember to put the wheelie bin out before seven tomorrow.
The council gave every house a green wheelie bin for recycling.
A fox knocked over our wheelie bin last night.
Word forms
| plural | wheelie bins |
|---|
Common combinations
- put out the wheelie bin
- It is my job to put out the wheelie bin.
- empty the wheelie bin
- The lorry empties the wheelie bins every Tuesday.
- recycling wheelie bin
- Cardboard goes in the recycling wheelie bin.
- overflowing wheelie bin
- An overflowing wheelie bin attracted gulls.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trash can
- Trash can is the American general word for a rubbish container and does not have to have wheels.
- dustbin
- Dustbin is the older British word for any bin, not necessarily one on wheels.
- garbage cart
- Garbage cart is the American term closest to a wheelie bin.
Word family
Commonly confused: wheelie bin or wheelie?
wheelie bin vs wheelie
Wheelie alone usually means a stunt on a bike, while wheelie bin is the container.
Practice
Where would you most likely see a wheelie bin on collection day?
Choose one answer.
Wheelie bins are left by the road for rubbish collection. The other places do not make sense.
Make it your own
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