wastage

Everyday

1. The amount of something that is wasted or lost. tree →
2. The act of wasting. tree →

In the lessons

In science, maths and business: food wastage, water wastage, calculating how much material is lost when cutting. In the formal exam voice: «Calculate the wastage.» means work out the amount lost.

Examples

• The school is trying to cut food wastage at lunch. tree →
• A dripping tap causes a lot of water wastage. tree →
• We cut a 50 cm board into 3 pieces of 15 cm, with 5 cm of wastage. tree →
• Wastage in the factory was very low. tree →
• Buying too much fruit led to wastage. tree →
• Builders allow for some wastage of tiles. tree →

Note

Uncountable. Close to «waste», but «wastage» often means the amount lost. In maths: wastage = amount you started with − amount used (50 − 45 = 5).