waste

I. noun Etymology: Middle English waste, wast; in sense 1, from Anglo-French wast, from wast, gast, guast, adjective, desolate, waste, from Latin vastus; in other senses, from Middle English wasten to waste — more at vast Date: 13th century 1. a. a sparsely settled or barren region ; desert b. uncultivated land c. a broad and empty expanse (as of water) 2. the act or an instance of wasting ; the state of being wasted 3. a. loss through breaking down of bodily tissue b. gradual loss or decrease by use, wear, or decay 4. a. damaged, defective, or superfluous material produced by a manufacturing process: as (1) material rejected during a textile manufacturing process and used usually for wiping away dirt and oil <

cotton waste

> (2) scrap (3) an unwanted by-product of a manufacturing process, chemical laboratory, or nuclear reactor <

toxic waste

> <

hazardous waste

> <

nuclear waste

> b. refuse from places of human or animal habitation: as (1) garbage, rubbish (2) excrement — often used in plural (3) sewage c. material derived by mechanical and chemical weathering of the land and moved down sloping surfaces or carried by streams to the sea II. verb (wasted; wasting) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French waster, gaster, from Latin vastare, from vastus desolate, waste Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to lay waste; especially to damage or destroy gradually and progressively <

reclaiming land wasted by strip-mining

> 2. to cause to shrink in physical bulk or strength ; emaciate, enfeeble <

a body wasted by disease

> 3. to wear away or diminish gradually ; consume 4. a. to spend or use carelessly ; squander <

waste valuable resources

> b. to allow to be used inefficiently or become dissipated <

a writer wasting her talent

> 5. kill; also to injure severely intransitive verb 1. to lose weight, strength, or vitality — often used with away <

was wasting away from illness

> 2. a. to become diminished in bulk or substance b. to become consumed 3. to spend money or consume property extravagantly or improvidently Synonyms: see ravage III. adjective Etymology: Middle English waste, wast, from Anglo-French wast Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) being wild and uninhabited ; desolate (2) arid, empty b. not cultivated ; not productive 2. being in a ruined or devastated condition 3. [waste (I)] a. discarded as worthless, defective, or of no use ; refuse <

waste material

> b. excreted from or stored in inert form in a living body as a byproduct of vital activity <

waste products

> 4. [waste (I)] serving to conduct or hold refuse material <

a waste barrel

>; specifically carrying off superfluous water <

a waste drain

> 5. wasted 4