Rubbish is the British word for garbage or trash: unwanted items you throw away, like food scraps, broken toys, or empty packages. Where Americans say “take out the trash,” British people say “take out the rubbish.” A rubbish bin is what Americans call a trash can or garbage can.

The word also means something worthless or of terrible quality. If you watch a movie that's poorly made with a ridiculous plot, you might call it absolute rubbish. When your friend claims they can run faster than a cheetah, you could dismiss that boast as rubbish. Scientists sometimes call a discredited theory rubbish once evidence proves it wrong.

British speakers use rubbish more freely than Americans use garbage in this second sense. A British student might say their team's performance was rubbish after losing a football match, or complain that a difficult homework assignment is rubbish. The word carries a tone of dismissal or contempt, suggesting something isn't just bad but not even worth serious consideration. When you call something rubbish, you're saying it belongs in the bin.