filth
Americannoun
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offensive or disgusting dirt or refuse; foul matter.
the filth dumped into our rivers.
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foul condition.
to live in filth.
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moral impurity, corruption, or obscenity.
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vulgar or obscene language or thought.
noun
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foul or disgusting dirt; refuse
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extreme physical or moral uncleanliness; pollution
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vulgarity or obscenity, as in language
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derogatory the police
Etymology
Origin of filth
before 1000; Middle English; Old English fȳlth. See foul, -th 1
Explanation
Filth is disgusting dirt, grime, or other unsavory material. Filth is dog poop all over the sidewalk, gunk under a movie seat. You can use the noun filth when you're talking about some grimy substance, like the smelly filth on the bottom of your shoes after you've walked across a cow pasture. You can also call a general state of uncleanliness filth. You might say that the filth in your brother's room makes it impossible to open the door. Some people also use this word for material they deem to be obscene. The Old English root word is fylð, which means "rotting matter." Ew.
Vocabulary lists containing filth
Theodore Roosevelt on "The Man with the Muck Rake" (1906)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Recorded largely in the steamy, sweltering basement of Richards’ rented French villa, Nellecôte, “Exile” reeks of filth, decadence and decay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Soon they were being branded by the News of the World as "Britain's newest purveyors of filth" - a moniker Sullivan claimed "made my mother cry".
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
It’s a matter of washing off the filth—with unnatural chemicals, at that—versus never picking up the filth in the first place.
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026
Ms Stainthorpe said she would "never forget the smell and filth around the house" which was so severe the team had to wear disposable overalls, gloves and masks.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
Out of it came a stench, not the sickly odour of decay in the meads of Morgul, but a foul reek, as if filth unnameable were piled and hoarded in the dark within.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
