Garbage collection

Garbage collection is a term used in {{Glossary("computer programming")}} to describe the process of finding and deleting {{Glossary("object", "objects")}} which are no longer being {{Glossary("object reference", "referenced")}} by other objects.

In other words, garbage collection is the process of removing any objects which are not being used by any other objects. Often abbreviated "GC," garbage collection is a fundamental component of the memory management system used by {{Glossary("JavaScript")}}.

See also

• Memory management on Wikipedia
• Garbage collection (computer science) on Wikipedia
• Garbage collection in the MDN JavaScript guide.
• Memory management in JavaScript