Definify.com
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
paperBut his
waste
words returned to him in vain. Spenser.
Not a
Till we come to holier ground.
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
Art made a mirror to behold my plight.
wasted
,Art made a mirror to behold my plight.
Spenser.
The Tiber
Insults our walls, and
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
To
waste
it all myself, and leave ye none! Milton.
Here condemned
To
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
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;
“Waste . . . of catel and of time.” as, a
. waste
of property, time, labor, words, etcChaucer.
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
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.
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.