bin

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈbin

plural bins

Synonyms of bin next

: a box, frame, crib, or enclosed place used for storage

chiefly British : a can for trash or garbage : dustbin

The woman retreated to a desk, dropping the leaflets in the bin as though she couldn't bear to hold them anymore.—

Denise Mina

bin

2 of 4

verb

binned; binning

transitive verb

: to put into a bin

BIN

3 of 4

: the verb form been used with spoken emphasis in African American English to indicate that something (such as an event or state) happened or existed in the remote past or that it began in the remote past and is still ongoing : stressed bin

BIN, which is stressed, situates an eventuality or some part of it in the remote past. It has been shown that developing AAL-speaking children also produce BIN in spontaneous speech and interpret it as a marker that refers to the distant past.—

Lisa Green and Tracy Conner

Note: BIN frequently precedes perfect (see perfect entry 1 sense 5) verb forms, as well as progressive (see progressive entry 1 sense 6) verb forms ending in -ing. It can also precede the African American English feature perfective done, additional predicates (such as nouns, adjectives, and prepositional phrases), and, in certain contexts, adverbial phrases.

bin-

4 of 4

prefix

: bi- entry 1

binaural

Examples of bin in a Sentence

Noun (1) Put the old newspapers in the recycling bin. a storage bin for hats and gloves

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Tour Co-produced with Nicholas Corson (Video Age, the Convenience), Compassion expands Gabriel’s palette in new and unexpected directions, as though he’s been scavenging in the used CD bins. —

Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 24 June 2024 Opening those bins could cause heavy bags to fall on your head, or someone else’s. —

Katie Camero, SELF, 14 June 2024

Verb

The selfie camera takes 32MP shots at f/2.4 All three cameras rely on pixel binning with resulting images at 13MP, 13MP, and 8MP, respectively. —

Eric Zeman, PCMAG, 25 June 2024 But, the scope can actually go even further, pixel binning down to just two megapixels but increasing the effective pixel size to 2.9µm. —

Tim Stevens, Ars Technica, 29 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for bin

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English binn, from Old English

Prefix

Middle English, from Late Latin, from Latin bini two by two; akin to Old English twinn twofold — more at twin

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1839, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bin was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bin. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.

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Kids Definition

bin

noun

ˈbin

: a box, frame, or enclosed place for storage

Last Updated: 29 Jun 2024 - Updated example sentences

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