dumpster

noun

dump·​ster ˈdəm(p)-stər How to pronounce dumpster (audio)
variants or less commonly Dumpster
: a large trash receptacle

Examples of dumpster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On Monday, March 10, a man was captured on CCTV carelessly shaking a cat out of a plastic bag into a dumpster at around 7:20 p.m. near the 25000 block of Cabot Road in Laguna Hills, per a Facebook post from the City of Mission Viejo, CA - Local Government. Gabrielle Rockson, People.com, 13 Mar. 2025 Sibley ran across the lot, behind some other cars parked in the car wash bays and behind a dumpster while trying to evade the gunmen, the footage shows. Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Mar. 2025 The desks came out of a dumpster and the computers were hand-me-downs, but students showed up. Mike Belleme, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025 Husband arrested for murder after wife's body found in dumpster Osbourne's heel-turn on the manner of death comes as a result of two civil lawsuits filed by Greenberg's parents, which the City of Philadelphia settled on Monday just as jury selection was about to begin. Julia Reinstein, ABC News, 4 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dumpster

Word History

Etymology

dump entry 1 + -ster (originally in the trademarked name Dempster Dumpster, applied to mechanically loaded refuse containers produced by the Dempster Brothers Company of Knoxville, Tennessee)

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dumpster was in 1937

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dumpster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumpster. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!