dirty
Americanadjective
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soiled with dirt; foul; unclean.
dirty laundry.
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spreading or imparting dirt; soiling.
dirty smoke.
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vile; mean; sordid; contemptible.
to play a dirty trick on someone.
- Synonyms:
- shabby, low, execrable, despicable, base
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obscene; pornographic; indecent.
a dirty joke.
- Synonyms:
- vulgar, raunchy, lewd, lascivious, nasty
-
undesirable or unpleasant; thankless.
He left the dirty work for me.
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very unfortunate or regrettable.
That's a dirty shame!
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not fair or sportsmanlike; unscrupulous.
a dirty fighter.
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hostile, insulting, contemptuous, or resentful.
She gave me a dirty look.
He made a dirty crack about the cooking.
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(of a nuclear weapon) producing a relatively large amount of radioactive fallout.
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(of the weather) stormy; squally.
It looks dirty to windward.
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Informal. obtained through illegal or disreputable means.
dirty money.
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appearing as if soiled; dark-colored; dingy; drab.
- Synonyms:
- dull
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Slang. using or in possession of narcotics.
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Foreign Exchange. (of currency floats) manipulated, as by a central bank influencing or changing exchange rates (opposed to clean).
verb (used with or without object)
adverb
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Informal. in a mean, unscrupulous, or underhand way.
to play dirty.
-
Informal. in a lewd manner.
to talk dirty.
idioms
adjective
-
covered or marked with dirt; filthy
-
-
obscene; salacious
dirty books
-
sexually clandestine
a dirty weekend
-
-
causing one to become grimy
a dirty job
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(of a colour) not clear and bright; impure
-
unfair; dishonest; unscrupulous; unsporting
-
mean; nasty
a dirty cheat
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scandalous; unkind
a dirty rumour
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revealing dislike or anger
a dirty look
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(of weather) rainy or squally; stormy
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(of an aircraft) having projections into the airstream, such as lowered flaps
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(of an explosive device) modified to cause radioactive contamination Compare clean
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slang to be offended by or be hostile towards
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a despicable person
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informal intimate secrets, esp those that might give rise to gossip
-
slang dishonest behaviour
-
-
an obscene word
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something that is regarded with disapproval
federalism is a dirty word
-
-
unpleasant or illicit activity
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informal to behave meanly or unkindly towards
verb
Synonym Usage
Dirty, filthy, foul, squalid refer to that which is not clean. Dirty is applied to that which is filled or covered with dirt so that it is unclean or defiled: dirty clothes. Filthy is an emphatic word suggesting something that is excessively soiled or dirty: filthy streets. Both dirty and filthy can refer to obscenity: a dirty mind, a filthy novel. Foul implies an uncleanness that is grossly offensive to the senses: a foul odor. Squalid, applied usually to dwellings or surroundings, implies dirtiness that results from the slovenly indifference often associated with poverty: a squalid tenement.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dirtysimple
-
dirtiessimple
-
have dirtiedperfect
-
has dirtiedperfect
-
am dirtyingprogressive
-
are dirtyingprogressive
-
is dirtyingprogressive
-
have been dirtyingperfect progressive
-
has been dirtyingperfect progressive
Past
-
dirtiedsimple
-
had dirtiedperfect
-
was dirtyingprogressive
-
were dirtyingprogressive
-
had been dirtyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dirty
Explanation
Things that aren't clean are dirty. The greasy pans in your sink, your muddy shoes, your smelly dog, your strange uncle's jokes — all of these things are dirty. When your car is dirty, you should to take it to the car wash, and when your hands are dirty, you need to be sure to wash them with soap and warm water. Some jobs are dirty, like mining, farming, and ditch digging, and the adjective dirty is sometimes used to mean "contaminating" or "poisonous," as with "dirty bombs." If you call your friend a "dirty rat," you mean to let him know you're disgusted with him.
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.
See Examples For:
"At first I thought I would take some music and books," he said, sitting wearily on a camp bed in a dirty grey T-shirt.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
That is the last we see or hear of that dirty business, which might as well be a visual metaphor for this docuseries’ shortcomings.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
"It's rather a dirty business today," says Martin Sahlberg.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
In its inspection of a Taylor facility in Colorado that processed the onions, the FDA recorded issues like dirty equipment and rare hand washing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
I was a Hello Girl and now I am here, a hermit in a boardinghouse, protected by a disheveled fortress of my dirty clothes and empty tins, and Theo knows absolutely nothing.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Surely there remain easier, quicker, dirtier ways to get there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Natural gas has long been billed as a "bridge fuel" between dirtier polluting fossil fuels and renewables such as wind and solar.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
One health benefit of “demand response” programs like this is that they keep older, dirtier gas fired power plants from turning on.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
In other cases, that means turning to older and dirtier energy sources like coal.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2026
She was dirtier than I’d ever seen her.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Listening to “The Boutique,” I feel like I should be smoking a cigarette and drinking the dirtiest martini known to man in a speakeasy, wearing a drop waist silk dress and bright red lipstick.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Coal is relatively inexpensive to produce but is the dirtiest fossil fuel, releasing considerable particulate air pollution, sulfur dioxide and mercury, and nearly twice the planet-warming carbon dioxide as natural gas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
At Murphy Road Recycling’s material recovery facility near Hartford, the machines are taking over the dirtiest jobs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
If not done carefully, bioenergy projects run the risk of emitting carbon — not sequestering it — and polluting communities already grappling with some of the state’s dirtiest air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
He lifted out the dirtiest, most ragged pair of britches I had ever seen in my life.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
“Today, there are also open drains lining homes which dirties the blue paint and damages the walls,” says Mr Dave.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024
“It dirties up a case. It brings in more otherwise inadmissible information,” said Hamasaki, who is now running for San Francisco district attorney.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2022
Buying two or three sets of sheets does mean using up some already limited storage, but students not terribly laundry-responsible won’t go into crisis when the dirties pile up.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2022
"This summit does not dignify anyone, rather, it dirties them, it sullies them. We Latin Americans have to defend ourselves so that they respect us."
From Reuters ● May 19, 2022
Whenever he feels trapped and panic sets in, he loses control and dirties himself.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
I'm not surprised to see air pollution, it's why we're doing the experiment, but I can't escape a feeling of being dirtied, contaminated… sullied by it.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
During one spurt of construction, High Point offered free carwashes and valet service because the dust dirtied vehicles and the work limited parking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
It depicts the bust of Sir Ernest Shackleton, wearing dirtied yellow suspenders, his face benevolent and tough, but blurred by the thickness of the paint on canvas.
From Salon ● May 29, 2023
Just as a parent might lick a thumb, she said, and use it to clean the dirtied cheek of a child.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2023
But this was my best dress, and if it got too dirtied up, Mama would tell my head a mess.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
To prevent that dust from dirtying the bed, clean the fan after you strip the sheets and before you vacuum the mattress.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
It’s a plan that risks pleasing no one, while also dirtying the company’s valuation.
From Reuters ● Feb. 15, 2023
“But he said arguments spoil its beauty, and that he would feel as if he was dirtying a flower with muddy hands.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2022
On Thursday, a few hours before dirtying his jersey with a headfirst slide, he dribbled a basketball through the clubhouse before asking if that were allowed.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2022
Travers extended two fingers and shook Ron’s hand as though frightened of dirtying himself.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
