- Waste
- Waste Waste, n. [OE. waste; cf. the kindred AS. w[=e]sten,
OHG. w[=o]st[=i], wuost[=i], G. w["u]ste. See {Waste}, a. &
v.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
For all this waste of wealth loss of blood. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
He will never . . . in the way of waste, attempt us again. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Little wastes in great establishments, constantly occurring, may defeat the energies of a mighty capital. --L. Beecher. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
All the leafy nation sinks at last, And Vulcan rides in triumph o'er the waste. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
The gloomy waste of waters which bears his name is his tomb and his monument. --Bancroft. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
Note: 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. [1913 Webster]
5. (Mining) Old or abandoned workings, whether left as vacant space or filled with refuse. [1913 Webster]
6. (Phys. Geog.) Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Syn: Prodigality; diminution; loss; dissipation; destruction; devastation; havoc; desolation; ravage. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
