waste

//weɪst//
B1Frequency Level 7Neutral
Visual representation of waste

Verb

wasteInfinitive
wastePresent tense
wastedPast tense
wastedPast participle
wastingPresent participle
wastesThird-person singular
1

to use something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose

Don't waste water by leaving the tap running.

2

to fail to make full or good use of something

Don't waste this opportunity to learn from the experts.

3

to gradually lose strength, health, or flesh; to become weaker

The patient wasted away from the disease.

Noun

wasteSingular
wastesPlural
1

unwanted or unusable material, substances, or by-products

The factory produces a lot of chemical waste.

2

the act of using something carelessly or extravagantly

Buying things you don't need is a waste of money.

3

a large area of barren, typically uninhabited land

They traveled across the frozen wastes of Antarctica.

Adjective

wasteCanonical form
1

eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required

We need to dispose of waste materials properly.

2

(of an area of land) not used, cultivated, or built on

The factory was built on waste land at the edge of the city.