Definitions for wasteweɪst

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

wasteweɪst(v.; n.; adj.)wast•ed, wast•ing

(v.t.)to consume or use to no avail or profit; squander:
to waste natural resources.
to fail or neglect to use.
to destroy or consume gradually; wear away:
waves wasting the rocky shore.
to wear down or reduce in bodily substance or strength; emaciate; enfeeble:
to be wasted by disease.
to devastate or ruin:
a country wasted by a long futile war.
Slang. to kill or murder.
Category: Common Vocabulary, Status (usage)
(v.i.)to be consumed or employed uselessly or inadequately.
to become gradually used up or worn away.
to become physically worn, esp. emaciated or enfeebled.
to diminish gradually, as wealth or power; dwindle.
(n.)useless consumption or expenditure; an act or instance of wasting:
a complete waste of my time.
neglect, instead of use.
gradual impairment or decay.
devastation or ruin.
an area devastated or ruined:
a blackened waste where timberland had stood.
anything unused, inadequately used, or unproductive.
desolate country, as desert.
something left over or superfluous:
salvaging factory wastes.
material derived by mechanical and chemical disintegration of rock, as the detritus transported by streams, rivers, etc.
Category: Geography (terms)
garbage; refuse.
wastes, excrement.
Category: Physiology
(adj.)not used or in use:
waste energy.
(of land, regions, etc.) wild; desolate.
(of regions, towns, etc.) in a state of desolation and ruin.
left over; superfluous:
to utilize the waste products of manufacture.
rejected as useless or worthless; refuse.
Physiol. pertaining to material unused by or unusable to the organism.
Category: Physiology
designed or used to receive or carry away useless material (often in combination):
a waste pipe.

Idioms for waste:

go to waste, to be wasted, rather than used or consumed.
Category: Idiom
lay waste, to devastate; destroy.
Category: Idiom

Origin of waste:

1150–1200; ME < ONF waster (OF g(u)aster) < L vāstāre, der. of vāstus desolate; ONF w-, OF gu- by influence of c. Frankish *wōsti desolate (c. OHG wuosti)

wast′a•ble(adj.)

Princeton's WordNet

waste, waste material, waste matter, waste product(noun)
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
"they collect the waste once a week"; "much of the waste material is carried off in the sewers"
waste, wastefulness, dissipation(noun)
useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly
"if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste"; "mindless dissipation of natural resources"
thriftlessness, waste, wastefulness(noun)
the trait of wasting resources
"a life characterized by thriftlessness and waste"; "the wastefulness of missed opportunities"
barren, waste, wasteland(noun)
an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation
"the barrens of central Africa"; "the trackless wastes of the desert"
waste, permissive waste(adj)
(law) reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect
godforsaken, waste, wild(verb)
located in a dismal or remote area; desolate
"a desert island"; "a godforsaken wilderness crossroads"; "a wild stretch of land"; "waste places"
waste, blow, squander(verb)
spend thoughtlessly; throw away
"He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends"; "You squandered the opportunity to get and advanced degree"
waste(verb)
use inefficiently or inappropriately
"waste heat"; "waste a joke on an unappreciative audience"
waste(verb)
get rid of
"We waste the dirty water by channeling it into the sewer"
waste, run off(verb)
run off as waste
"The water wastes back into the ocean"
neutralize, neutralise, liquidate, waste, knock off, do in(verb)
get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing
"The mafia liquidated the informer"; "the double agent was neutralized"
consume, squander, waste, ware(verb)
spend extravagantly
"waste not, want not"
pine away, waste, languish(verb)
lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
"After her husband died, she just pined away"
waste, emaciate, macerate(verb)
cause to grow thin or weak
"The treatment emaciated him"
lay waste to, waste, devastate, desolate, ravage, scourge(verb)
cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
"The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion"
waste, rot(verb)
become physically weaker
"Political prisoners are wasting away in many prisons all over the world"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

waste(noun)ɪst
a bad or careless use
The film was a complete waste of money/time.; All the young lives lost at war - it's such a waste.
wasteɪst
to be unused, or to be thrown away without being used
tons of energy going to waste
wasteɪst
sth useless that is left after you have used a product, material, etc.
discarded plastic and other waste; nuclear waste
waste(verb)ɪst
≠ conserve, save
Turn out the lights so we don't waste energy.; You're wasting your money on that car.
wasteɪst
not understood or appreciated by sb
The beauty of the performance was wasted on my brother.
wasteɪst
to do without delay
They wasted no time in denying the report.

Webster Dictionary

Waste(adj)
desolate; devastated; stripped; bare; hence, dreary; dismal; gloomy; cheerless
Waste(adj)
lying unused; unproductive; worthless; valueless; refuse; rejected; as, waste land; waste paper
Waste(adj)
lost for want of occupiers or use; superfluous
Waste(adj)
to bring to ruin; to devastate; to desolate; to destroy
Waste(adj)
to wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out
Waste(adj)
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
Waste(adj)
to damage, impair, or injure, as an estate, voluntarily, or by suffering the buildings, fences, etc., to go to decay
Waste(verb)
to be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value, or the like, gradually; to be consumed; to dwindle; to grow less
Waste(verb)
to procure or sustain a reduction of flesh; -- said of a jockey in preparation for a race, etc
Waste
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
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
Waste
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
Waste
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
old or abandoned workings, whether left as vacant space or filled with refuse