1. piles of discarded metal, machinery, or other waste materials
2. a state of being discarded or rejected as useless
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The old cars were hauled away to the scrapheaps.
• Workers sorted through the metal scrapheaps looking for valuable materials.
• The factory’s scrapheaps contained tons of unused steel.
• Many promising careers ended up on the scrapheaps of history.
• The company’s outdated computers were destined for the scrapheaps.
• Environmental regulations now govern how scrapheaps are managed.