What does disposal mean?
Word: Disposal
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Disposal means the act of getting rid of something, such as rubbish. If something is at your disposal, it is ready for you to use.
Synonyms: removal, clearing
How do you spell disposal?
Syllables: dis - pos - al
Tricky part: The ending is al, not el or le, and no e is left in front of it. There is one s after the o.
Watch out for: dispossal, disposel, disposle
Memory tip: Arrival, survival, disposal: when an action word ending in e grows into an -al noun, the e bows out and al takes its seat.
Idioms and Phrases
- at your disposal: ready for you to use whenever you need it Example: "The hotel kept a car at our disposal for the whole trip to Scotland."
Disposal in a sentence
Example 1: The town has a new plant for the safe disposal of plastic.
Example 2: Old batteries need careful disposal because they contain harmful chemicals.
Example 3: The disposal of the old sofa took four people and a truck.
Fun Fact
In British English a waste disposal unit is a machine fitted under a kitchen sink that grinds up food scraps so they wash away; Americans call it a garbage disposal.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
Our local council holds a monthly drive for the desposal of old phones, chargars and broken laptops.
a) desposal and chargars
b) council and laptops
c) only chargars
d) only desposal
Show answer
a) desposal and chargars. Disposal starts with dis, as in discard, and chargers ends in ers.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. disposal 2. proposal 3. refusal a. a plan or idea put forward for others to think about b. the act of saying no c. the getting rid of something you no longer want
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
Show answer
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. Disposal clears things away (c), a proposal is an idea put forward (a) and a refusal is a no (b).
Word Tally
You get 2 marks for each misspelt word you find in the list. How many marks will you get?
disposal, recycle, compost, rubish, landfil
a) 8
b) 4
c) 2
d) 6
Show answer
b) 4. Rubbish has a double b and landfill a double l at the end, so two words are wrong: 2 x 2 = 4.
Sound Check
In which word is 'o' pronounced differently?
a) disposal
b) proper
c) proposal
d) closed
Show answer
b) proper. Proper has the short o of hot; disposal, proposal and closed have the long 'oh' sound.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is a way of waste disposal?
a) painting the walls
b) watering the garden
c) composting kitchen scraps
d) cooking the dinner
Show answer
c) composting kitchen scraps
2. Which item needs the most careful disposal?
a) a banana peel
b) an old mobile phone
c) a paper bag
d) a cotton cloth
Show answer
b) an old mobile phone
