Meaning & use
wheelie bins
Last updated
“wheelie bins” is a form of “wheelie bin”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounpluralinformalBritish
Large rubbish containers on two wheels with a lid, which people keep outside their homes and roll to the street for collection.
Grammar: Plural of wheelie bin; one container is a wheelie bin.
Patterns
- put the wheelie bins out
- empty the wheelie bins
The wheelie bins go out on Thursday mornings.
Foxes tipped over the wheelie bins last night.
Each house has two wheelie bins, one for recycling and one for waste.
Word forms
| singular | wheelie bin |
|---|
Common combinations
- put the wheelie bins out
- Don't forget to put the wheelie bins out tonight.
- empty the wheelie bins
- The council empties the wheelie bins every week.
- wheelie bins on the pavement
- Wheelie bins on the pavement block wheelchairs.
- wheelie bin collection
- Wheelie bin collection has moved to Tuesday.
- a green wheelie bin
- The green wheelie bin is for garden waste.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trash cans
- Trash cans is the usual American term and may not have wheels.
- garbage carts
- Garbage carts is American and describes large wheeled bins from city services.
- dustbins
- Dustbins is British and refers to any rubbish bin, including ones without wheels.
- rubbish bins
- Rubbish bins is a neutral British phrase that does not mention wheels.
Word family
Commonly confused: wheelie bins or wheelies?
wheelie bins vs wheelies
Wheelies without bin refers to the cycling or motorcycle trick of balancing on the back wheel.
Practice
What is a wheelie bin used for?
Choose one answer.
A wheelie bin is a large wheeled rubbish container. The other options describe unrelated household objects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wheelie bins”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.