waste

      English

      Pronunciation

      Etymology 1

      From Middle English waste (noun, “a waste”), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast, waste (“a waste”), from Old Frankish *wuasti, *wuosti (“a waste”) and *wōstin, *wōstinna (“a waste, wasteland, desert”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstī (“a waste”), *wōstinjō (“a waste, wasteland”), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- (“empty, wasted”). Cognate with Old High German wuosti, wuasti ("a waste"; > Modern German Wüste), Old High German wuostinna (“a desert, waste”), Old English wēsten (“a waste, wasteland”). Non Germanic cognates include Latin vastus (“waste, desert”) and Albanian vjeshtë (“autumn”).

      Noun

      waste (countable and uncountable; plural wastes)

      1. A waste land; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.
      2. A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.
      3. A large tract of uncultivated land.
      4. A vast expanse of water.
      5. A disused mine or part of one.
      6. The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.
        That was a waste of time
        Her life seemed a waste
      7. Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.
      8. Gradual loss or decay.
      9. A decaying of the body by disease; wasting away.
      10. (rare) Destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; See "to lay waste"
      11. Excess of material, useless by-products or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
      12. Excrement
        The cage was littered with animal waste
      13. (law) A cause of action which may be brought by the owner of a future interest in property against the current owner of that property to prevent the current owner from degrading the value or character of the property, either intentionally or through neglect.
      Derived terms
      Terms derived from waste (noun)
      Translations
      desolate place
      loss, ineffective use
      decay
      useless products, garbage
      excrement
      The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
      Translations to be checked

      Etymology 2

      From Middle English waste (adjective, “waste”), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast (“waste”), from Old Frankish *wuasti, *wuosti (“waste, empty”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstijaz (“wasted, abandoned, empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- (“empty, wasted”). Cognate with Old High German wuosti, wuasti (“waste, empty”), Old Saxon wōsti (“desolate”), Old English wēste (“waste, barren, desolate, empty”).

      Adjective

      waste (comparative more waste, superlative most waste)

      1. (now rare) Uncultivated, uninhabited.
        • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XIII:
          So whan Sir Galahad was departed frome the Castell of Maydyns he rode tyll he com to a waste forest [...].
      2. Barren; desert.
        • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 255:
          For centuries the shrine at Mecca had been of merely local importance, far outshone by the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, whose cult Christians had in good measure renewed by their pilgrimage in honour of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, while leaving the actual site of the Jerusalem Temple dishonoured and waste.
      3. Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.
      4. Superfluous; needless.
      5. Unfortunate; Disappointing.
      Usage notes

      Same meanings as wasted.

      Derived terms
      Translations
      barren
      excess
      superfluous; needless

      Etymology 3

      From Middle English wasten (“to waste, lay waste”), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French waster (“to waste, devastate”) (cf. also the variant gaster and French gâter from a related Old French word); the Anglo-Norman form waster was either from Old Frankish *wuastan, *wuostan, *wuostjan (“to lay waste, devastate”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstijaną (“to waste”), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- (“empty, wasted”), or alternatively from Latin vastāre, present active infinitive of vastō and influenced by the Frankish; the English word was assisted by similarity to native Middle English westen ("to waste"; > English weest). Cognate with Old High German wuostan, wuastan, wuostjan ("to waste"; > Modern German wüsten), Old English wēstan (“to lay waste, ravage”).

      Verb

      waste (third-person singular simple present wastes, present participle wasting, simple past and past participle wasted)

      1. (transitive, now rare) To devastate or destroy.
      2. (transitive) To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.
        • 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly): 
          A “moving platform” scheme […] is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. […] This set-up solves several problems […]. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?
        We wasted millions of dollars and several years on that project.
      3. (transitive, slang) To kill; to murder.
      4. (intransitive) Gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
      Derived terms
      Terms derived from waste (verb)
      Translations
      to destroy
      to decay
      to squander
      to kill
      to weaken
      The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
      Translations to be checked

      See also

      Anagrams

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      Dutch

      Pronunciation

      • IPA: /ˈʋɑs.tə/

      Verb

      waste

      1. singular past indicative and subjunctive of wassen
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      Last modified on 16 June 2013, at 21:03