Meanings
plural trash pandas
- CanadaUShumorousslangkenningA raccoon, especially one that forages in garbage cans.
A video posted to Facebook on Saturday shows a trash panda breaking into a “raccoon-proof” green bin in less than 30 seconds.
2018 April 12, Alanna Rizza, “It took this raccoon 30 seconds to break into a raccoon-proof green bin”, in The Star, Canada, retrieved 13 Apr 20182 more examples
Braddock Baskett of the Orlando-area attempted to give some raccoons food. […] Maybe he should’ve taken his own warning before feeding the “trash panda”.
2016 April 30, Zach Dennis, “Florida man tries to feed ‘trash panda’ in epic fail”, in Palm Beach Post, retrieved 13 Apr 2018[T]he family baby, Jack-Jack, sees a raccoon eating from the family’s garbage can while his father, Mr. Incredible, is sleeping, and uses his superpowers […] to do battle with the trash panda.
2017 July 14, Josh Rottenberg, “All the intel on Disney and Pixar's new slate of animated films”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 13 Apr 2018Synonyms: dumpster bandit, dumpster panda, garbage panda
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA raccoon, especially one that forages in garbage cans.
Origin
From the likening of the black patches around a raccoon's eyes to similar markings on a giant panda, it being in the same superfamily as the red panda, and a reference to its tendency to forage for garbage in urban environments.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
trash panda. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trash%20panda
“trash panda.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trash%20panda. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “trash panda,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trash%20panda.
Source: trash panda on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.