Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableThe practice of hospital employees or emergency workers releasing homeless patients on the streets instead of placing them into the custody of a relative or shelter or retaining them in a hospital where they may require expensive medical care.
Authorities have launched a criminal investigation into suspected dumping of homeless people on Skid Row after police witnessed ambulances leaving five people on a street there during the weekend.
2006. L.A. Police Allege Homeless Dumping, Associated Press, October 25, 2006, Los Angeles1 more example
A hospital van dropped off a homeless paraplegic man on Skid Row and left him crawling in the street with nothing more than a soiled gown and a broken colostomy bag.... Police said the incident was a case of "homeless dumping" and were questioning officials from the hospital.
2007. Police probe alleged L.A. homeless dumping. MSNBC via Associated Press, February 9, 2007, Los Angeles http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17062674Synonyms: patient dumping
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe practice of hospital employees or emergency workers releasing homeless patients on the streets instead of placing them into the custody of a relative or shelter or retaining them in a hospital where they may require expensive medical care.
Cite this entry
homeless dumping. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homeless%20dumping
“homeless dumping.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homeless%20dumping. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “homeless dumping,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homeless%20dumping.
Source: homeless dumping on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.