# recycle bin

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A container in which items to be recycled may be placed.
2. In Microsoft Windows, a storage location for deleted files, from which they can be retrieved or permanently deleted.

## Etymology
First sense appears c. 1971, in the Arizona Daily Sun. Computing sense appears in 1995 with the Windows 95 operating system.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/recycle-bin