What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Waste vs Scrap - What's the difference?

waste | scrap |

In transitive terms the difference between waste and scrap

is that waste is to squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly while scrap is to make into scrap.

In intransitive terms the difference between waste and scrap

is that waste is to be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually while scrap is to scrapbook; to create scrapbooks.

As nouns the difference between waste and scrap

is that waste is a waste land; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert while scrap is a (small) piece; a fragment; a detached, incomplete portion.

As verbs the difference between waste and scrap

is that waste is to devastate or destroy while scrap is to discard.

As an adjective waste

is uncultivated, uninhabited.

waste

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Noun

  • A waste land; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.
  • A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.
  • A large tract of uncultivated land.
  • A vast expanse of water.
  • A disused mine or part of one.
  • The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.
  • That was a waste of time
    Her life seemed a waste
  • Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.
  • Gradual loss or decay.
  • A decaying of the body by disease; wasting away.
  • (rare) Destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; See "to lay waste"
  • Excess of material, useless by-products or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
  • Excrement
  • The cage was littered with animal waste
  • (legal) A cause of action which may be brought by the owner of a future interest in property against the current owner of that property to prevent the current owner from degrading the value or character of the property, either intentionally or through neglect.
  • Derived terms
    * ameliorative waste * cotton waste * industrial waste * lay waste * nuclear waste * permissive waste * radioactive waste * rock waste * silk waste * toxic waste * trade waste * voluntary waste * wasteful * wasteless * waste of space * waste of time * waste pipe * wasty

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Uncultivated, uninhabited.
  • *:
  • *:SOo whanne syr Galahad was departed from the castel of maydens / he rode tyl he came to a waste forest / & there he mette with syre launcelot and syr Percyuale but they knewe hym not / for he was newe desguysed / Ryghte so syr launcelot his fader dressid his spere and brake it vpon syr Galahad
  • Barren; desert.
  • *2009 , (Diarmaid MacCulloch), A History of Christianity , Penguin 2010, p. 255:
  • *:For centuries the shrine at Mecca had been of merely local importance, far outshone by the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, whose cult Christians had in good measure renewed by their pilgrimage in honour of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, while leaving the actual site of the Jerusalem Temple dishonoured and waste .
  • Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author= Katie L. Burke
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= In the News , passage=Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.}}
  • Superfluous; needless.
  • Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
  • *Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)
  • *:His heart became appalled as he gazed forward into the waste darkness of futurity.
  • Unfortunate; disappointing. (rfex)
  • Usage notes
    Same meanings as wasted.
    Derived terms
    * affirmative waste * ameliorative waste * go to waste * lay waste * lie waste * nonwasted * nonwasting * permissive waste * run to waste * unwasted * voluntary waste * waste pipe * wasteland * wasteness * wastrife

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

    (wast)
  • To devastate or destroy.
  • * Spenser
  • Thou barren ground, whom winter's wrath hath wasted , / Art made a mirror to behold my plight.
  • * Dryden
  • The Tiber / Insults our walls, and wastes our fruitful grounds.
  • To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.
  • * Bible, Numbers xiv. 33
  • until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness
  • * Robertson
  • Wasted by such a course of life, the infirmities of age daily grew on him.
  • To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.
  • * Gray
  • Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838
  • , page=13 (Technology Quarterly), magazine=(The Economist) , title= Ideas coming down the track , passage=A “moving platform” scheme
    E. Kay (1822-1897), afterwards Lord Justice of Appeal, had rooms on the same staircase as myself, and we wasted a great deal of time together, both in term and in my second summer vacation.'' 1909. Francis Galton, ''Memories of my life , p. 69.
  • (slang) To .
  • Gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
  • To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.
  • * Bible, 1 Kings xvii. 14
  • The barrel of meal shall not waste .
  • (legal) To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.
  • Derived terms
    * get wasted * wastage * waste breath * waster * waste time * wastingly * wastery * wastethrift * wastrel * wasty

    See also

    *

    Anagrams

    * * * 1000 English basic words ----

    scrap

    English

    Etymology 1

    (etyl) scrappe, from (etyl) skrap, from

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A (small) piece; a fragment; a detached, incomplete portion.
  • * De Quincey
  • I have no materials — not a scrap .
    I found a scrap of cloth to patch the hole.
  • (usually, in the plural) Leftover food.
  • Give the scraps to the dogs and watch them fight.
  • Discarded material (especially metal), junk.
  • That car isn't good for anything but scrap .
  • (ethnic slur, offensive) A Hispanic criminal, especially a Mexican or one affiliated to the Norte gang.
  • The crisp substance that remains after drying out animal fat.
  • pork scraps
    Derived terms
    * scrap paper * scrapbook * scrapheap * scrappy * scrapyard

    Verb

    (scrapp)
  • To discard.
  • (of a project or plan) To stop working on indefinitely.
  • To scrapbook; to create scrapbooks.
  • To dispose of at a scrapyard.
  • To make into scrap.
  • Derived terms
    * scrapper

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fight, tussle, skirmish.
  • We got in a little scrap over who should pay the bill.

    Verb

    (scrapp)
  • to fight