go to waste

verb

To remain unused; not to fulfill its purpose.

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Meanings

verbgo to waste (third-person singular simple present goes to waste, present participle going to waste, simple past went to waste, past participle gone to waste)

present singular third person goes to waste · participle present going to waste · past went to waste · participle past gone to waste

  1. To remain unused; not to fulfill its purpose.

    Every year it is painfully apparent that fully two-thirds of our fruits and tons of vegetables go to waste.

    1912, George Washington Carver, The Canning and Preserving of Fruits and Vegetables in the Home

Translations

Finnish mennä hukkaan
  • mennä hukkaanTranslations
Hungarian veszendőbe megy
  • veszendőbe megyTranslations
Polish marnować, zmarnować
  • marnowaćTranslations
  • zmarnowaćTranslations
Portuguese desperdiçar
  • desperdiçarTranslations
Spanish desperdiciar, echar a perder
  • desperdiciarTranslations
  • echar a perderTranslations
Swedish gå till spillo
  • gå till spilloTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

go to waste. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20to%20waste

MLA

“go to waste.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20to%20waste. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go to waste,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20to%20waste.

Source: go to waste on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.