3
general::
noun waste material ADJ. domestic, household | garden QUANT. bag, pile | tons VERB + RUBBISH put out I forgot to put the rubbish out last night. | collect, remove, take away The rubbish is collected on Tuesdays. | clear (out), dispose of, dump, throw (away/out) He's clearing rubbish out of the attic. Someone had dumped their rubbish by the road. Throw the rubbish in the bin. | leave, strew (around) There was rubbish strewn around everywhere. | pick up RUBBISH + VERB decay, rot RUBBISH + NOUN bag, bin, skip | dump, heap, tip | collection, disposal | chute sth that you think is bad/silly/wrong ADJ. absolute, complete, total, utter The film was absolute rubbish. | worthless Many critics see the paintings as worthless rubbish. | old The antique shop was just full of old rubbish. VERB + RUBBISH talk Don't talk such rubbish! PREP. ~ about the usual rubbish about his undiscovered talents PHRASES a load of (old) rubbish, What rubbish!
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
4
general::
rubbish
especially British English things that people throw away, such as old food, dirty paper etc:
• People are being encouraged to recycle their household rubbish. • the rubbish bin
garbage/trash
American English rubbish:
• The garbage is collected every Tuesday. • There were piles of trash in the backyard. • a black plastic garbage bag
refuse
formal rubbish:
• The strike has disrupted refuse collection . • It’s a site which is used for domestic refuse.
litter
empty bottles, pieces of paper etc that people have dropped on the ground:
• Parents should teach children not to drop litter. • There was a lot of litter on the beach.
waste
rubbish, or materials that need to be dealt with after they have been used in industrial processes:
• nuclear waste • toxic waste • household waste • The company was fined for dumping toxic waste in the sea.
Longman-Thesaurus