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Webster 1913 Edition

Waste

Waste

,
Adj.
[OE.
wast
, OF.
wast
, from L.
vastus
, influenced by the kindred German word; cf. OHG.
wuosti
, G.
wüst
, OS.
w[GREEK]sti
, D.
woest
, AS.
wēste
. Cf.
Vast
.]
1.
Desolate; devastated; stripped; bare; hence, dreary; dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
The dismal situation
waste
and wild.
Milton.
His heart became appalled as he gazed forward into the
waste
darkness of futurity.
Sir W. Scott.
2.
Lying unused; unproductive; worthless; valueless; refuse; rejected;
as,
waste
land;
waste
paper
.
But his
waste
words returned to him in vain.
Spenser.
Not a
waste
or needless sound,
Till we come to holier ground.
Milton.
Ill day which made this beauty
waste
.
Emerson.
3.
Lost for want of occupiers or use; superfluous.
And strangled with her
waste
fertility.
Milton.
Waste gate
,
a gate by which the superfluous water of a reservoir, or the like, is discharged.
–
Waste paper
.
See under
Paper
.
–
Waste pipe
,
a pipe for carrying off waste, or superfluous, water or other fluids.
Specifically:
(a)
(Steam Boilers)
An escape pipe. See under
Escape
.
(b)
(Plumbing)
The outlet pipe at the bottom of a bowl, tub, sink, or the like.
–
Waste steam
.
(a)
Steam which escapes the air.
(b)
Exhaust steam.
–
Waste trap
,
a trap for a waste pipe, as of a sink.

Waste

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Wasted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wasting
.]
[OE.
wasten
, OF.
waster
,
guaster
,
gaster
, F.
gâter
to spoil, L.
vastare
to devastate, to lay waste, fr.
vastus
waste, desert, uncultivated, ravaged, vast, but influenced by a kindred German word; cf. OHG.
wuosten
, G.
wüsten
, AS.
wēstan
. See
Waste
,
Adj.
]
1.
To bring to ruin; to devastate; to desolate; to destroy.
Thou barren ground, whom winter’s wrath hath
wasted
,
Art made a mirror to behold my plight.
Spenser.
The Tiber
Insults our walls, and
wastes
our fruitful grounds.
Dryden.
2.
To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.
Until your carcasses be
wasted
in the wilderness.
Num. xiv. 33.
O, were I able
To
waste
it all myself, and leave ye none!
Milton.
Here condemned
To
waste
eternal days in woe and pain.
Milton.
Wasted
by such a course of life, the infirmities of age daily grew on him.
Robertson.
3.
To spend unnecessarily or carelessly; to employ prodigally; to expend without valuable result; to apply to useless purposes; to lavish vainly; to squander; to cause to be lost; to destroy by scattering or injury.
The younger son gathered all together, and . . .
wasted
his substance with riotous living.
Luke xv. 13.
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And
waste
its sweetness on the desert air.
Gray.
4.
(Law)
To damage, impair, or injure, as an estate, voluntarily, or by suffering the buildings, fences, etc., to go to decay.
Syn. – To squander; dissipate; lavish; desolate.
The time
wasteth
night and day.
Chaucer.
The barrel of meal shall not
waste
.
1 Kings xvii. 14.
But man dieth, and
wasteth
away.
Job xiv. 10.
2.
(Sporting)
To procure or sustain a reduction of flesh; – said of a jockey in preparation for a race, etc.

Waste

,
Noun.
[OE.
waste
; cf. the kindred AS.
wēsten
, OHG.
wōstī
,
wuostī
, G.
wüste
. See
Waste
,
Adj.
&
Verb.
]
1.
The act of wasting, or the state of being wasted; a squandering; needless destruction; useless consumption or expenditure; devastation; loss without equivalent gain; gradual loss or decrease, by use, wear, or decay;
as, a
waste
of property, time, labor, words, etc
.
“Waste . . . of catel and of time.”
Chaucer.
For all this
waste
of wealth loss of blood.
Milton.
He will never . . . in the way of
waste
, attempt us again.
Shakespeare
Little
wastes
in great establishments, constantly occurring, may defeat the energies of a mighty capital.
L. Beecher.
2.
That which is wasted or desolate; a devastated, uncultivated, or wild country; a deserted region; an unoccupied or unemployed space; a dreary void; a desert; a wilderness.
“The wastes of Nature.”
Emerson.
All the leafy nation sinks at last,
And Vulcan rides in triumph o'er the
waste
.
Dryden.
The gloomy
waste
of waters which bears his name is his tomb and his monument.
Bancroft.
3.
That which is of no value; worthless remnants; refuse. Specifically: Remnants of cops, or other refuse resulting from the working of cotton, wool, hemp, and the like, used for wiping machinery, absorbing oil in the axle boxes of railway cars, etc.
4.
(Law)
Spoil, destruction, or injury, done to houses, woods, fences, lands, etc., by a tenant for life or for years, to the prejudice of the heir, or of him in reversion or remainder.
☞ Waste is voluntary, as by pulling down buildings; or permissive, as by suffering them to fall for want of necessary repairs. Whatever does a lasting damage to the freehold is a
waste
.
Blackstone.
5.
(Mining)
Old or abandoned workings, whether left as vacant space or filled with refuse.
Syn. – Prodigality; diminution; loss; dissipation; destruction; devastation; havoc; desolation; ravage.

Webster 1828 Edition

Waste

WASTE

,
Verb.
T.
[G., L.]
1.
To diminish by gradual dissipation or loss. Thus disease wastes the patient; sorrows waste the strength and spirits.
2.
To cause to be lost; to destroy by scattering or by injury. Thus cattle waste their fodder when fed in the open field.
3.
To expend without necessity or use; to destroy wantonly or luxuriously; to squander; to cause to be lost through wantonness or negligence. Careless people waste their fuel, their food or their property. Children waster their inheritance.
And wasted his substance with riotous living. Luke 15.
4.
To destroy in enmity; to desolate; as, to waste an enemys country.
5.
To suffer to be lost unnecessarily; or to throw away; as, to waste the blood and treasure of a nation.
6.
To destroy by violence.
The Tyber insults our walls, and wastes our fruitful grounds.
7.
To impair strength gradually.
Now wasting years my former strength confounds.
8.
To lose in idleness or misery; to wear out.
Here condemnd to waste eternal days in woe and pain.
9.
To spend; to consume.
O were I able to waste it all myself, and leave you none.
10.
In law, to damage, impair or injure, as an estate, voluntarily, or by suffering the buildings, fences, &c. To go to decay. See the Noun.
11.
To exhaust; to be consumed by time or mortality.
Till your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. Numbers 14.
12.
To scatter and lose for want of use or of occupiers.
Full many a flowr is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on the desert air.

WASTE

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To dwindle; to be diminished; to lose bulk or substance gradually; as, the body wastes in sickness.
The barrel of meal shall not waste. 1 Kings 17.
2.
To be diminished or lost by slow dissipation, consumption or evaporation; as, water wastes by evaporation; fuel wastes in combustion.
3.
To be consumed by time or mortality.
Gut man dieth, and wasteth away. Job 14.

WASTE

,
Adj.
1.
Destroyed; ruined.
The Sophi leaves all waste in his retreat.
2.
Desolate; uncultivated; as a waste country; a waste howling wilderness. Deuteronomy 32.
3.
Destitute; stripped; as lands laid waste.
4.
Superfluous; lost for want of occupiers.
--And strangled with her waste fertility.
5.
Worthless; that which is rejected, or used only for mean purposes; as waste wood.
6.
That of which no account is taken, or of which no value is found; as waste paper.
7.
Uncultivated; untilled; unproductive.
There is yet much waste land in England.
Laid waste, desolated; ruined.

WASTE

,
Noun.
1.
The act of squandering; the dissipation of property through wantonness, ambition, extravagance, luxury or negligence.
For all this waste of wealth, and loss of blood.
2.
Consumption; loss; useless expense; any loss or destruction which is neither necessary nor promotive of a good end; a loss for which there is no equivalent; as a waste of goods or money; a waste of time; a waste of labor; a waste of words.
Little wastes in great establishments, constantly occurring, may defeat the energies of a mighty capital.
3.
A desolate or uncultivated country. The plains of Arabia are mostly a wide waste.
4.
Land untilled, though capable of tillage; as the wastes in England.
5.
Ground, space or place unoccupied; as the etherial waste.
In the dead waste and middle of the night.
6.
Region ruined and deserted.
All the leafy nation sinks at last, and Vulcan rides in triumph oer the waste.
7.
Mischief; destruction.
He will never, I think, in the way of waste, attempt us again.
8.
In law, spoil, destruction or injury done to houses, woods, fences, lands, &c., by a tenant for life or for years, to the prejudice of the heir, or of him in reversion or remainder. Waste is voluntary, as by pulling down buildings; or permissive, as by suffering them to fall for want of necessary repairs. Whatever does a lasting damage to the freehold, is a waste.

Definition 2024

waste

waste

See also: wasté

English

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.
  14. (geology) Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English waste ‎(“waste”, adjective), 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, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter xvij, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIII:
      SOo whanne syr Galahad was departed from the castel of maydens / he rode tyl he came to a waste forest / & there he mette with syre launcelot and syr Percyuale but they knewe hym not / for he was newe desguysed / Ryghte so syr launcelot his fader dressid his spere and brake it vpon syr Galahad
  2. Barren; desert.
    • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, page 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.
    • 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:
      Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.
  4. Superfluous; needless.
  5. Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
    • Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
      His heart became appalled as he gazed forward into the waste darkness of futurity.
  6. Unfortunate; disappointing. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Usage notes

Same meanings as wasted.

Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English wasten ‎(“to waste, lay waste”), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French waster ‎(“to waste, devastate”) (compare 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.
    • Spenser
      Thou barren ground, whom winter's wrath hath wasted, / Art made a mirror to behold my plight.
    • Dryden
      The Tiber / Insults our walls, and wastes our fruitful grounds.
  2. (transitive) To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.
    • Bible, Numbers xiv. 33
      until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness
    • Robertson
      Wasted by such a course of life, the infirmities of age daily grew on him.
  3. (transitive) To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.
    • Gray
      Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
    • 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in 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?
    E. Kay (1822-1897), afterwards Lord Justice of Appeal, had rooms on the same staircase as myself, and we wasted a great deal of time together, both in term and in my second summer vacation. 1909. Francis Galton, Memories of my life, page 69.
    We wasted millions of dollars and several years on that project.‎
  4. (transitive, slang) To kill; to murder.
  5. (intransitive) Gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
  6. (intransitive) To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.
    • Bible, 1 Kings xvii. 14
      The barrel of meal shall not waste.
  7. (law) To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.
Derived terms
Translations

See also

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋɑs.tə/

Verb

waste

  1. singular past indicative and subjunctive of wassen

Etymology

From Middle English waste ‎(“a waste”, noun), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast, waste ‎(“a waste”), from Old Frankish *wōsti ‎(“a waste”) and *wōstin, *wōstinna ‎(“a waste, wasteland, desert”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstī ‎(“a waste”), *wōstinjō ‎(“a waste, wasteland”), from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂st- ‎(“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”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: wāst, IPA(key): /weɪst/
  • Rhymes: -eɪst
  • Homophone: waist

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