WASTE1 to waste something2 something that wastes time, money etcRELATED WORDSoppositeSAVEto spend a lot of money carelessly 浪费金钱SPEND MONEY OR TIME (3)to waste time 浪费时间SPEND MONEY OR TIMEsee alsoRUBBISH/GARBAGEGET RID OFEFFICIENT/NOT EFFICIENT1 to waste something 浪费某物waste /weɪst/ [transitive verb]to use time, money, food etc in a way that is not useful or sensible, or use more of something than is necessary 浪费，滥用〔时间、金钱、食物等〕 I wasted 40 minutes waiting for a bus this morning. 今天早上我浪费了40分钟等公共汽车。 Don't leave the light on - you're wasting electricity. 别让灯一直开着——浪费电。 The school kitchen wastes an awful lot of food. 学校食堂浪费大量食物。waste money/time on something Bill wastes all his money on beer and cigarettes. 比尔把钱都浪费在啤酒和香烟上。 Let's not waste any more time on this. 我们不要在这件事上再浪费时间了。wasted /ˈweɪstɪd, ˈweɪstəd/ [adjective]something that iswasted is not used in a sensible way, or does not produce a useful result 浪费的；白费的 I felt as if my education had been wasted when I couldn't get a job. 我找不到工作，觉得我受的教育都浪费了。a wasted trip/journey I'm sorry, you've had a wasted trip. Mr Newton isn't here at the moment. 对不起，你白跑了一趟，牛顿先生这会儿不在。wasted life/years She thought back over the past four years - four wasted years married to a man who almost destroyed her. 她回顾过去的四年——嫁了个几乎毁掉她的男人，浪费了四年的光阴。a wasted opportunity The government could have dealt with the problem there and then. It was a wasted opportunity. 政府本来可以立即处理这个问题，但机会浪费了。go to waste /ˌgəʊ tə ˈweɪst/ [verb phrase]if somethinggoes to waste or if you let somethinggo to waste, it is wasted because it is not used 〔因未被使用而〕被浪费掉 Local produce often goes to waste because people prefer to buy imported food. 当地的农产品常常被浪费掉，因为人们喜欢购买进口食品。 If no one else wants this, I'll eat it -- I hate to see good food go to waste. 要是没人想要的话，我来吃一我不喜欢看到好好的食物被浪费掉。 We can't let all our hard work go to waste. 我们不能让努力白费。squander /ˈskwɒndəʳǁˈskwɑːn-/ [transitive verb]to waste something valuable by using it in a stupid way that brings no useful results 浪费，挥霍〔有价值的东西〕 His family felt he had squandered his musical talent. 他的家人认为他浪费了自己的音乐天赋。squander a chance/opportunity England squandered a golden opportunity to score, seconds before the final whistle. 终场哨声吹响前的几秒，英格兰队浪费了一次绝佳的进球机会。squander away something Howard was a terrible gambler, and had squandered away the family fortune. 霍华德是个大赌棍，把全部家产都挥霍掉了。fritter away /ˌfrɪtər əˈweɪ/ [transitive phrasal verb]to waste something such as time or money in a silly way by using small amounts of it on things you do not need 〔在不需要的事上〕愚蠢地浪费〔时间、金钱等〕fritter away something So many students seem to fritter away their time at college. 那么多学生似乎虚度了大学时光。fritter something away Michelle had frittered her inheritance away on extravagant parties and fancy clothes. 米歇尔把继承的遗产都浪费在豪华聚会和华美服饰上。dissipate /ˈdɪsɪpeɪt, ˈdɪsəpeɪt/ [transitive verb]formalto gradually waste something such as money or energy by trying to do a lot of different and often unnecessary things 【正式】浪费，挥霍，虚耗〔金钱或精力等〕 She had dissipated her fortune by the time she was twenty-five. 她25岁时已经把她的财产挥霍掉了。money down the drain /ˌmʌni daʊn ðə ˈdreɪn/ [noun phrase]money that is wasted 白白浪费的金钱be money down the drain Buying nice clothes for you was just money down the drain. All you ever wear are jeans and T-shirts. 给你买漂亮的衣服只是白白浪费金钱。你向来只穿牛仔裤和T恤衫。throw money down the drain The government is throwing tax payers’ money down the drain. 政府在白白浪费纳税人的钱。2 something that wastes time, money etc 浪费时间、金钱等的事be a waste of something /biː ə ˈweɪst əv something/ [verb phrase]if somethingis a waste of time, money, energy etc, it annoys you because it uses time, money etc in a way that has no useful results 是浪费某物 a pointless war that was a terrible waste of human life 糟蹋生命的一场无意义的战争 That class was a complete waste of time - I didn't learn anything. 那堂课完全是浪费时间—我什么都没学到。 My parents think going to football games is a waste of money. 我的父母认为看足球赛是浪费金钱。wasteful /ˈweɪstfəl/ [adjective]an activity or method that iswasteful uses too much money, food, energy etc, without any useful results 浪费的，挥霍的 Many people see the new £60 million building as wasteful and extravagant. 许多人认为那幢耗资六千万英镑的新大楼是铺张浪费。 wasteful packaging 浪费的包装inefficient /ˌɪnɪˈfɪʃənt◂, ˌɪnəˈfɪʃənt◂/ [adjective]an organization or system that isinefficient does not work well, so it uses more time, money, or energy than it needs to 效率低的；效果差的 an inefficient heating system 效果差的暖气系统 Local government in the area is seen as being corrupt and inefficient. 人们认为这个地区的地方政府腐败且效率低。 The factory is inefficient, and its working practices and machinery dated. 这家工厂效率低，工作制度和机器都过时了。