Antonyms for waste


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : weyst
Phonetic Transcription : weɪst


Definition of waste

Origin :
  • c.1200, "devastate, ravage, ruin," from Anglo-French and Old North French waster "to spoil, ruin" (Old French guaster), altered (by influence of Frankish *wostjan) from Latin vastare "lay waste," from vastus "empty, desolate, waste" (see vain).
  • The word also existed in Old English as westan. Meaning "to lose strength or health; pine; weaken" is attested from c.1300; the sense of "squander, spend or consume uselessly" is first recorded mid-14c.; meaning "to kill" is from 1964. Wasted "intoxicated" is slang from 1950s. The adjective is recorded from late 13c.
  • noun spending, use without thought
  • noun land that is uncultivated
  • noun garbage, refuse
  • verb spend or use without thought; dwindle
  • verb ruin, destroy
Example sentences :
  • It is wrong to waste the precious gift of time, on acrimony and division.
  • Extract from : « United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches » by Various
  • Fellow citizens, we must not waste the precious gift of this time.
  • Extract from : « United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches » by Various
  • They waste the time one should spend in making them come true.
  • Extract from : « Ballads of a Bohemian » by Robert W. Service
  • I disdain to spoil my eyes or waste my time by newspaper-reading.
  • Extract from : « Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 7, 1870 » by Various
  • Let us waste no time in discussions about abstract law and right.
  • Extract from : « Stories from Thucydides » by H. L. Havell
  • Indeed they were here enabled to get more food, and to waste no time hunting.
  • Extract from : « The Leopard Woman » by Stewart Edward White
  • What's the use of giving the politicians more money to waste?
  • Extract from : « Dust » by Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
  • With so little time to live, I do not choose to waste any of it in sleep.
  • Extract from : « Tanglewood Tales » by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • But Ulysses had no time to waste in trying to get at the mystery.
  • Extract from : « Tanglewood Tales » by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • But Ulysses did not waste much time in listening to the laughter or the song.
  • Extract from : « Tanglewood Tales » by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Synonyms for waste

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019