rubbish
gb/ɹˈʌbɪʃ/ us/ɹˈʌbɪʃ/
B1
Engleză
~ 7900
Sensuri
0 sensuri
Substantiv
B1
entity
1
garbage or household waste
Things you do not want and throw away, like old food, paper, or broken things, especially in British English.
Tipar de utilizare:
to throw [rubbish] [somewhere]
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners sometimes think 'rubbish' is used in American English in the same way as 'trash' or 'garbage'. In American English, 'trash' and 'garbage' are much more common; 'rubbish' sounds more British or more formal/old-fashioned in the US.
Sinonime
garbage (More common in North American English; otherwise the same meaning.)
|
trash (Very common in American English for household waste.)
Antonime
recycling (Material kept to be processed and used again, not simply thrown away as waste.)
|
belongings (Personal things that people want to keep, not throw away.)
Colocații
throw away rubbish
|rubbish bin
|rubbish collection
|bag of rubbish
|clear up the rubbish
|rubbish dump
Teme
daily life
|environment
|daily_life
|housing
Exemple
- 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.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- 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.
Substantiv
B2
entity
2
nonsense or worthless ideas
Words or ideas that are not true, not sensible, or very bad and not useful.
Tipar de utilizare:
[something] is (a load of) rubbish
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners sometimes confuse the physical-waste meaning with the 'nonsense' meaning and try to use them in the same situations. For example, '*I threw his rubbish idea in the bin*' sounds odd; better is 'His idea is rubbish' or 'I rejected his idea.'
Sinonime
nonsense (Very close in meaning and register; often a bit more formal or neutral than 'rubbish'.)
|
garbage (In informal American English, can also mean 'nonsense', especially for opinions or content.)
Antonime
truth (Refers to statements that are correct and factual, the opposite of false or nonsensical talk.)
|
sense (As in 'make sense'; language or ideas that are logical and reasonable.)
Colocații
talk rubbish
|complete rubbish
|a load of rubbish
|utter rubbish
|believe that rubbish
|read such rubbish
Teme
communication
|opinions
|core_vocabulary
Exemple
- 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.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- 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.
Verb
C1
action
3
to strongly dismiss something
To say in a strong way that something is very bad, not true, or not worth thinking about.
Tipar de utilizare:
to rubbish [an idea/claim/plan]
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners sometimes treat 'rubbish' as a verb in American English, where this use is rare and sounds very British. In American English, verbs like 'trash', 'slam', or 'attack' are more natural in this sense.
Sinonime
dismiss (Often more neutral and formal; does not always imply such strong criticism.)
|
slam (Informal; emphasizes strong and often public criticism, similar in tone but slightly more emotional.)
Antonime
praise (To say good things about something; the opposite of criticizing it as rubbish.)
|
endorse (To publicly support or approve something, not reject it.)
Colocații
rubbish a report
|rubbish the claims
|rubbish an idea
|rubbish the suggestion
|rubbish the allegations
|completely rubbish something
Teme
communication
|politics
|work
Exemple
- 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.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- 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.
adjective
informal
B2
property
4
very bad or not good at something
Very bad, or not good at something.
Tipar de utilizare:
[someone] is rubbish at [doing something]
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners sometimes overuse this informal adjective in very formal writing or exams. In formal contexts, it is better to use words like 'poor', 'unsatisfactory', or 'of low quality' instead of 'rubbish'.
Sinonime
terrible (Very similar meaning but more widely used across dialects and slightly less slangy.)
|
useless (Often stronger and more negative about a person’s ability than 'rubbish'.)
Antonime
excellent (Describes very high quality or ability, the opposite of 'rubbish'.)
|
brilliant (Informal British English for very good, contrasting with informal 'rubbish'.)
Colocații
a rubbish film
|rubbish service
|rubbish job
|rubbish at maths
|rubbish at cooking
|really rubbish
Teme
opinions
|abilities
|core_vocabulary
Exemple
- 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.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- 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.
interjection
informal
B2
action
5
exclamation meaning 'nonsense!'
You say this when you think what someone said is not true or very stupid.
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners may try to use this exclamation in polite or formal situations, where it can sound rude or too direct. In polite contexts, it is better to say, 'I don't think that's correct,' or 'I'm not sure that's true.'
Sinonime
nonsense (Often used in the same way as an exclamation, slightly more formal or old-fashioned.)
|
bullshit (A vulgar term with a similar meaning but much stronger and offensive.)
Antonime
exactly (Used to show strong agreement, the opposite move in a conversation.)
|
right (As an exclamation to agree, opposite to rejecting what was said.)
Colocații
Rubbish, he shouted.
|Oh, rubbish!
|That's rubbish, you know.
Teme
communication
|emotions
|core_vocabulary
Exemple
- 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.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- 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.
Gramatică
Forma de dicționar
rubbish
IPA
GB/ɹˈʌbɪʃ/
US/ɹˈʌbɪʃ/
Silabe și accent
rub - bish (2 silabe)
Stress on 1st syllable (rub)
Forme ale cuvântului
Noun
- Base: rubbish
- Plural: rubbish
Familie de cuvinte
Related words
rubbishy
adjective
Expresii
a load of rubbish
1/ə lˈoʊd əv ɹˈʌbɪʃ/
fixed phrase
informal
a lot of nonsense
Used to say that something (like a story or idea) is completely not true or very stupid.
Exemple
- 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
1/bˈi ɹˈʌbɪʃ ˈæt/
fixed phrase
informal
be very bad at something
To be very bad at doing something.
Exemple
- I'm rubbish at dancing.
- She's rubbish at saving money.
- He's rubbish at replying to messages on time.
clear up the rubbish
1/klˈɪɹ ˈʌp ðə ɹˈʌbɪʃ/
fixed phrase
remove rubbish from an area
To pick up and take away rubbish from a place.
Exemple
- 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
1/ɹˈʌbɪʃ bˈɪn/
fixed phrase
container for waste
A container where you put rubbish before it is taken away.
Exemple
- 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
1/ɹˈʌbɪʃ dˈʌmp/
fixed phrase
open area for rubbish
An area of land where a lot of rubbish is put and left.
Exemple
- 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
1/ɹˈʌbɪʃ aɪdˈiə/
fixed phrase
informal
very bad idea
An idea that someone thinks is very bad or stupid.
Exemple
- 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
1/ɹˈʌbɪʃ sˈɚvɪs/
fixed phrase
informal
very poor service
Service that is very slow, rude, or not good.
Exemple
- 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
1/ɹˈʌbɪʃ tˈɪp/
fixed phrase
place where rubbish is dumped
A place where people take large rubbish, like old furniture or garden waste, to leave it.
Exemple
- 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
1/tˈɔk ɹˈʌbɪʃ/
fixed phrase
informal
say silly or false things
To say things that are not true, not sensible, or very silly.
Exemple
- 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
1/ˈʌtɚ ɹˈʌbɪʃ/
fixed phrase
informal
complete nonsense
Used to say something is 100% nonsense or very, very bad.
Exemple
- His explanation was utter rubbish.
- She dismissed the rumours as utter rubbish.
- The report is utter rubbish from start to finish.