dirty work

American  

noun

1. disagreeable, often tedious tasks.

2. any illegal or dishonest dealing.

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dirty work Idioms  

1. An unpleasant, distasteful, or thankless task or job. For example, Jane complained that she had to do all the dirty work while her colleagues took long vacations. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dirty work

And then the dirty work for 2028 would begin.

From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2026

They’re the guys that are doing a lot of dirty work that don’t really get the recognition, and I think a lot of Americans probably see themselves in that lens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

Cybersecurity experts are warning that artificial intelligence agents, widely considered the next frontier in the generative AI revolution, could wind up getting hijacked and doing the dirty work for hackers.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025

This Victor does his own dirty work and what goes wrong is his fault.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025

“Stained? What are you—is that why you send others to do your dirty work for you? You won’t touch us normal people?”

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older