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Synonyms

dirty word

American  

noun

  1. a vulgar or taboo word; obscenity.

  2. any word, name, or concept considered reprehensible or unmentionable; anathema.

    “Lose” is a dirty word to this team.

Etymology

Origin of dirty word

First recorded in 1835–45

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.