grime
Americannoun
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dirt, soot, or other filthy matter, especially adhering to or embedded in a surface.
-
a style of music influenced by rap, ragga, etc., and characterized by lyrics and imagery that reference the dark side of urban life.
verb (used with object)
noun
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dirt, soot, or filth, esp when thickly accumulated or ingrained
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a genre of music originating in the East End of London and combining elements of garage, hip-hop, rap, and jungle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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grimesimple
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grimessimple
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have grimedperfect
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has grimedperfect
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are grimingprogressive
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am grimingprogressive
-
is grimingprogressive
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have been grimingperfect progressive
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has been grimingperfect progressive
Past
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grimedsimple
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had grimedperfect
-
was grimingprogressive
-
were grimingprogressive
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had been grimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grime
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English grim; apparently special use of Old English grīma “mask,” to denote layer of dust; compare dialectal Dutch grijm
Explanation
Grime is gross, greasy, ingrained dirt, like the grime on your neighbor's van that tempts you to write "Clean Me" in it with your finger. You may find grime under your fingernails for days after your auto mechanics class, black oily dirt that requires a lot of scrubbing to remove. It's less common, but you can also use this word as a verb, meaning to make something this dirty: "They're going to grime the kitchen floor if they don't take their boots off!" The Germanic root of grime means "to smear."
Vocabulary lists containing grime
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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Born Behind Bars
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The Night Diary
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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.
Faye Grime, Island Waste's director, said the firm had bold messaging online highlighting the safe disposal of batteries and a box customers must tick to declare they had checked items.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
While his unique lyricism is still widely appreciated, he isn't often mentioned in contemporary rap discussions dominated by Grime, Drake, and socially conscious rappers like Kendrick Lamar.
From BBC • May 31, 2024
The rapper, known as the "Godfather of Grime", was appointed MBE for his services to music in 2017.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024
Grime Kids is on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer from 22:00 GMT on Monday 13 November.
From BBC • Nov. 12, 2023
Grime and salt sweat stung his eyes and trickled around the edges of his filter mask.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
