use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose

we can't afford to waste electricity

I don't use the car, so why should I waste precious money on it?

(of a person or a part of the body) become progressively weaker and more emaciated

she was visibly wasting away

kill or severely injure (someone)

I saw them waste the guy I worked for

devastate or ruin (a place)

he seized their cattle and wasted their country

(of time) pass away

the years were wasting

(of a material, substance, or by-product) eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required after the completion of a process

ensure that waste materials are disposed of responsibly

plants produce oxygen as a waste product

(of an area of land, typically an urban one) not used, cultivated, or built on

a patch of waste ground

an act or instance of using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose

it's a waste of time trying to argue with him

they had learned to avoid waste

unwanted or unusable material, substances, or by-products

nuclear waste

hazardous industrial wastes

a large area of barren, typically uninhabited land

the icy wastes of the Antarctic

damage to an estate caused by an act or by neglect, especially by a life tenant