rubbish bin
A rubbish bin is the UK, Irish, and Commonwealth English term for what Americans call a trash can or garbage can — the container you toss your waste into.
Definitions
A rubbish bin is the UK, Irish, and Commonwealth English term for what Americans call a trash can or garbage can — the container you toss your waste into. Completely standard and entirely uncontroversial, it's one of those regional vocabulary differences that perfectly illustrates how English diverges across the Atlantic. Whether it's the kitchen bin under the sink, the wheelie bin outside the house, or the large one in the office, if you're in the UK, it's a rubbish bin and that's final.
She crumpled up the failed draft and tossed it straight into the rubbish bin.
Comments
(UK, Irish, Commonwealth) garbage can, trash can.
“SONGMICS Double Rubbish Bin, 2 x 30L Waste and Recycling Kitchen Bin with 15 Rubbish Bags, Metal Pedal Bin, Plastic Inner Buckets and Hinged Lids, Handles, Soft Closure, Airtight, Black LTB60BK #pedalbin #songmics #doublebin #kitchenbin #rubbishbin #wastebin”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "rubbish bin" (R)
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- 84%
(Ireland, Commonwealth) A bin for holding rubbish until it can be collected; a garbage can.
- 77%
(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial) A plastic bag produced for the disposal of household waste.
- 75%
(chiefly, Commonwealth) Refuse, waste, garbage, junk, trash.
- 73%
(chiefly, North American) A bin for garbage; (in particular) a wheelie bin.