- waste
- verb1》 use carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose.↘(usu. be wasted on) expend on an unappreciative recipient: small talk was wasted on him.↘fail to make full or good use of.2》 (often waste away) become progressively weaker and more emaciated.3》 literary lay waste to.4》 N. Amer. informal kill or severely injure.5》 [as adjective wasted] informal under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.6》 literary (of time) pass away.adjective1》 eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required.2》 (of an area of land, typically an urban one) not used, cultivated, or built on.noun1》 an act or instance of wasting.2》 unusable or unwanted material.3》 a large area of barren, typically uninhabited land.4》 Law damage to an estate caused by an act or by neglect, especially by a life tenant.Phrasesgo to waste be wasted.lay waste to (or lay something (to) waste) completely destroy.waste of space informal a person perceived as useless.OriginME: from Old North. Fr. wast(e) (n.), waster (v.), based on L. vastus 'unoccupied, uncultivated'.
English new terms dictionary. 2014.