noun
rubbish heap; garbage dump
Refers to a place where swept-up trash is piled; often used literally, but also appears in the proverb 掃き溜めに鶴 (a jewel in a dunghill).
掃き溜めに鶴がいるようなものだ。
It's like a crane in a rubbish heap.
庭の隅に掃き溜めを作った。
I made a rubbish heap in the corner of the garden.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling, common in everyday writing.
Irregular okurigana usage; less common.
ゴミ捨て場 is a more general term for a garbage disposal area, while 掃き溜め specifically implies a pile of swept-up debris.
Compound of 掃き (haki, 'sweeping', continuative form of 掃く) and 溜め (tame, 'accumulation', continuative form of 溜める), literally 'swept-up pile'.