Etymology From Middle English bynne, from Old English binn (“crib, manger”), from Late Latin benna or a Celtic language, possibly Proto-Brythonic *benn (“cart, carriage”) (whence Middle Welsh benn, Old Breton benn (“caisson”), modern Welsh ben), from Proto-Celtic *bend(n)ā (whence Gaulish benna). Compare German Benne (“wheelbarrow”) and Middle Dutch benne (“basket”), whence modern Dutch ben and as a borrowing, West Frisian bin (both "wicker basket").
A box, frame, crib, or enclosed place, used as a storage container.
a corn bin
a wine bin
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a coal bin
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A container for rubbish or waste.
a rubbish bin
a wastepaper bin
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an ashes bin
British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
Free up my G's locked in the bin Jail house comin' like subs one comes out then one goes in2018 October 22, “Subs”, Slipz of Hoxton (lyrics):
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Abbreviation, Ellipsis, Slang Ellipsis of loony bin (“lunatic asylum”).
At the moment, and in "an emergency", you or I could be sent to the bin, willy-nilly, on the say-so of a single doctor (who may never have seen us before, and need have no particular experience of mental illness), so long as the application is supported by one of our relatives, or by a "social worker".1973, New Scientist, volume 58, number 852, page 822:
“She’s crazy,” I said. “She should be in a bin.”1988, Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye:
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A digital file folder for organising media in a non-linear editing program.
Etymology From Middle English bynne, from Old English binn (“crib, manger”), from Late Latin benna or a Celtic language, possibly Proto-Brythonic *benn (“cart, carriage”) (whence Middle Welsh benn, Old Breton benn (“caisson”), modern Welsh ben), from Proto-Celtic *bend(n)ā (whence Gaulish benna). Compare German Benne (“wheelbarrow”) and Middle Dutch benne (“basket”), whence modern Dutch ben and as a borrowing, West Frisian bin (both "wicker basket").
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UK, Informal To dispose of (something) by putting it into a bin, or as if putting it into a bin.
He put the bank statement in the shoebox marked "Bank Statements" and binned the rest.2008, Tom Holt, Falling Sideways, Orbit books,, →ISBN, page 28:
This splendid eloquence was promptly binned by the pope, […]2002, Christopher Harvie, Scotland: A Short History, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 59:
The CC [Co-ordinating Centre] had long since binned the idea of catching the regular shuttle service, […]2005, Ian Oliver, War and peace in the Balkans: the diplomacy of conflict in the former Yugoslavia, I.B. Tauris, →ISBN, page 238:
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NR also wants more effort made to bin out-of-date 1970s technology, but only replacing it with equipment that meets customer needs, rather than high-tech kit just for the sake of it.2021 September 22, Howard Johnston, “NR: stop firefighting and plan for long-term progress”, in RAIL, number 940, page 11: