rubbish
garbage or household waste
Things you do not want and throw away, like old food, paper, or broken things, especially in British English.
to throw [rubbish] [somewhere]
- Please take the rubbish out before you go to bed.
- The street was covered in rubbish after the festival.
- Put your rubbish in the bin, not on the ground.
- The council only collects household rubbish once a week.
- We picked up bags of rubbish from the beach.
- I forgot to put the rubbish outside.
- There is a lot of rubbish in the park.
- He threw the apple core in the rubbish bin.
- We put all the old boxes in the rubbish.
- She carries a bag for her dog's rubbish.
nonsense or worthless ideas
Words or ideas that are not true, not sensible, or very bad and not useful.
[something] is (a load of) rubbish
- What he said about vaccines was total rubbish.
- I don't believe that rubbish you read online.
- The article is full of political rubbish.
- She thinks astrology is rubbish.
- Stop talking rubbish and listen for a minute.
- This story is rubbish. It is not true.
- He talks rubbish when he is angry.
- I think that idea is rubbish.
- The website is full of rubbish information.
- Don't listen to that rubbish on social media.
to strongly dismiss something
To say in a strong way that something is very bad, not true, or not worth thinking about.
to rubbish [an idea/claim/plan]
- The minister rubbished claims that the policy had failed.
- Critics initially rubbished the film, but audiences loved it.
- Her research was rubbished by some senior academics.
- The company rubbished reports of a data breach.
- He rubbished the idea as completely unrealistic.
- The coach rubbished the report in the newspaper.
- Some people rubbished his new book.
- The company rubbished the story on social media.
- Her boss rubbished her plan for the project.
- The scientist rubbished the theory in his talk.
very bad or not good at something
Very bad, or not good at something.
[someone] is rubbish at [doing something]
- The coffee here is rubbish, let's go somewhere else.
- I'm rubbish at remembering names.
- Their customer service was absolutely rubbish.
- He says the book is good, but I thought it was rubbish.
- She's not rubbish at maths; she just lacks confidence.
- This phone is rubbish. It breaks all the time.
- I'm rubbish at singing.
- The Wi‑Fi in this hotel is rubbish.
- He's rubbish at driving in the city.
- The food was rubbish, so we didn't go back.
exclamation meaning 'nonsense!'
You say this when you think what someone said is not true or very stupid.
- Rubbish! You know that's not what happened.
- Oh, rubbish, you could easily do it if you tried.
- That's rubbish, and you know it.
- Rubbish, he said, waving his hand dismissively.
- Rubbish! I never said anything like that.
- Rubbish! I don't believe you.
- She said, "Rubbish," when she heard the story.
- "That's rubbish," he told his friend.
- Rubbish! It was not my fault.
- "Oh, rubbish," my dad said when he read the news.
- Base: rubbish
- Plural: rubbish
a load of rubbish
1a lot of nonsense
Used to say that something (like a story or idea) is completely not true or very stupid.
- That conspiracy theory is a load of rubbish.
- What he said about you is just a load of rubbish.
- Most of the comments on that post are a load of rubbish.
be rubbish at
1be very bad at something
To be very bad at doing something.
- I'm rubbish at dancing.
- She's rubbish at saving money.
- He's rubbish at replying to messages on time.
clear up the rubbish
1remove rubbish from an area
To pick up and take away rubbish from a place.
- We stayed after the party to clear up the rubbish.
- Volunteers spent the morning clearing up the rubbish on the beach.
- Please clear up the rubbish before you leave the classroom.
rubbish bin
1container for waste
A container where you put rubbish before it is taken away.
- Please put your empty bottles in the rubbish bin.
- There isn't a rubbish bin nearby, so I'll carry this with me.
- The park's rubbish bins are emptied every morning.
rubbish dump
1open area for rubbish
An area of land where a lot of rubbish is put and left.
- The village is next to an old rubbish dump.
- Children were seen playing on the rubbish dump.
- The smell from the rubbish dump is terrible in summer.
rubbish idea
1very bad idea
An idea that someone thinks is very bad or stupid.
- I thought it was a rubbish idea from the start.
- That's a rubbish idea; it'll never work.
- He keeps coming up with rubbish ideas for the project.
rubbish service
1very poor service
Service that is very slow, rude, or not good.
- We had rubbish service at the restaurant last night.
- For such high prices, the hotel gives rubbish service.
- Customers keep complaining about the rubbish service.
rubbish tip
1place where rubbish is dumped
A place where people take large rubbish, like old furniture or garden waste, to leave it.
- We took the broken wardrobe to the rubbish tip.
- The local rubbish tip is only open at weekends.
- He works at the council rubbish tip outside town.
talk rubbish
1say silly or false things
To say things that are not true, not sensible, or very silly.
- He talks rubbish when he's had too much to drink.
- Stop talking rubbish and answer the question properly.
- People online talk so much rubbish about health.
utter rubbish
1complete nonsense
Used to say something is 100% nonsense or very, very bad.
- His explanation was utter rubbish.
- She dismissed the rumours as utter rubbish.
- The report is utter rubbish from start to finish.