rubbish
rubbish Lexical Profile
rubbish Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British Waste material, refuse, or litter that is thrown away.
"Please remember to put the empty bottles in the rubbish bin before you leave."
Nonsense, absurd ideas, or meaningless talk.
"The tabloid rumors about his sudden resignation are complete rubbish."
• adjective
British Very bad, worthless, or highly unskilled at doing something.
"I am absolutely rubbish at playing the guitar and can barely strum a chord."
• interjection
British An exclamation used to express strong disagreement or to dismiss something as nonsense.
"Rubbish! I never said anything of the sort to him."
• verb
British To criticize severely and reject as worthless.
"The critics rubbished his new theatrical play before it was even officially released."
Word Nuance & Usage
In North American English, 'rubbish' is recognized but less common than 'trash' or 'garbage'; however, in British and Commonwealth English, it is the standard term for waste and is widely used colloquially as an adjective or verb meaning 'worthless' or 'to criticize'.
• Rhymes for rubbish
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French 'rubbous', of unknown origin. It originally denoted rubble or waste material from construction.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.