Meanings
plural circular files
- humorousidiomaticThe trash container; the wastebasket.
He was completely underqualified for the job, so I put his resume directly into the circular file.
1 more example
If it's good trash, read it. Bad trash? Chuck it in the circular file.
1988, Donald H. Weiss, Improve Your Reading Power, AMACOM, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 9Synonyms: round file, circular filing cabinet, file 13, bin, garbage can, garbage pail, trash bin, trash can
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe trash container; the wastebasket.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna container with an open top; for discarded paper and other rubbish
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
In reference to the wastebasket's cylindrical shape, and the act of throwing things away rather than filing them in cabinets.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German Rundordner
- Rundordnertrash container, wastebasket
Cite this entry
circular file. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circular%20file
“circular file.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circular%20file. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “circular file,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circular%20file.
Source: circular file on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.