waster meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

waster

noun

UK /ˈweɪstə/

Etymology From Middle English wastere, waister, wastar, wastour, equivalent to waste + -er. Compare Anglo-Norman wastur, Old French gastëor.

Someone or something that wastes; someone who squanders or spends extravagantly.

Dialectal An imperfection in the wick of a candle, causing it to waste.

Obsolete A destroyer or plunderer.

He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 18:9:

An item that is spoiled during its manufacture.

Unless the cast was very hot indeed, the steel would refuse to ascend, and a great many wasters were caused thereby.1895, Richard Smith-Casson, “Small Cast Steel Ingots”, in Transactions of the Iron and Steel Institute, volume 46, page 215:

Derogatory, Slang An idle, worthless person; a loser.

2024, Laura Carter, Fake It 'til You Make It I don't want a total waster and I'm definitely not looking for a hook-up, but I really do need an okay date. Someone normal. Someone I can introduce to family and friends […]

noun

Etymology Unknown

Fencing, Government, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Martial arts, Military, Politics, Sports, War Obsolete A kind of cudgel; also, a blunt-edged sword used as a foil.

Or, as they that play at wasters exercise themselves by a few cudgels how to avoid an enemy's blows, let us arm ourselves against all such violent incursions which may invade our minds.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 6:

Scotland, Obsolete A leister; a spear for catching fish.