garbage collectionn.
/ˈɡɑːbɪdʒ kəˌlɛkʃn/, U.S. /ˈɡɑrbɪdʒ kəˌlɛkʃən/ 1. The collection of garbage, esp. household waste, for disposal, typically administered by a municipal authority.rare in British, Irish, and New Zealand English.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun]
scavengery1656
refuse collection1870
refuse disposal1871
garbage collection1877
1877 North Amer. (Philadelphia) 21 Dec. It was stated that the contracts for street-cleaning and garbage collection as awarded this year would amount to $168,152.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 10/6 Other services such as mail, transportation and garbage collection have come to a halt.
2019 Philippine Star (Nexis) 31 Jan. In crowded, polluted Metro Manila, providing more trash receptacles, with an efficient system of garbage collection, can encourage an attitude change.
2. Computing. The automatic deletion of data no longer of use or accessible to a program, so as to reclaim the memory it occupies for other purposes.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > data > database > data entry > [noun] > garbage > reclamation
garbage collection1960
1960 D. J. Edwards LISP II Garbage Collector (MIT Artificial Intelligence Project, Memo No. 19) 2 If no relocation is desired, the garbage collection may be terminated at this point.
2015 J. McPeak & P. Wilton Beginning JavaScript (ed. 5) ii. 24 Garbage collection is not always as efficient as it should be and may not occur until another page is loaded.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1877