dirt
- any foul or filthy substance, as mud, grime, dust, or excrement.
- earth or soil, especially when loose.
- something or someone vile, mean, or worthless: After that last outburst of hers I thought she was dirt.
- moral filth; vileness; corruption.
- obscene or lewd language: to talk dirt.
- Informal. gossip, especially of a malicious, lurid, or scandalous nature: Tell me all the latest dirt.
- private or personal information which if made public would create a scandal or ruin the reputation of a person, company, etc.
- Mining.
- crude, broken ore or waste.
- (in placer mining) the material from which gold is separated by washing.
- do (someone) dirt. dirty(def 18).
- eat dirt, Informal. to accept blame, guilt, criticism, or insults without complaint; humble or abase oneself: The prosecutor seemed determined to make the defendant eat dirt.
Origin of dirt
Synonyms for dirt
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for dirt
excrement, soil, muck, mud, stain, ground, dust, earth, clay, filth, tarnish, mire, smut, crud, slime, smudge, dregs, filthiness, gook, feculenceExamples from the Web for dirt
Contemporary Examples of dirt
Turns out that wool regulates temperature, repels water, wicks away moisture, and resists stains and dirt.
They slapped and punched him, and when he fell, dragged him through the dirt.
In one case a detainee was dragged naked along the dirt floor.
And Madusa had spent time on motorcycles, dirt bikes and four wheelers, among other rides.
But how is it they never lose that hunger to turn over the next shovel of dirt?
Historical Examples of dirt
They were putting on outer clothes from the store-room to protect them from the dirt and damp.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Dick, vaguely conscious of damp and dirt, went up to his bedroom.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
But ye kin ride, b'y; so dirt don't count; clean ridin's the thing.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
We worked in gangs of six, digging and passing up the dirt into the night-tubs.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
In some places there are high mounds of dirt outside the city wall.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, MycenaeJennie Hall
dirt
- any unclean substance, such as mud, dust, excrement, etc; filth
- loose earth; soil
- packed earth, gravel, cinders, etc, used to make a racetrack
- (as modifier)a dirt track
- mining the gravel or soil from which minerals are extracted
- a person or thing regarded as worthless
- obscene or indecent speech or writing
- slang gossip; scandalous information
- moral corruption
- do someone dirt slang to do something vicious to someone
- dish the dirt informal to spread malicious gossip
- eat dirt slang to accept insult without complaining
- treat someone like dirt to have no respect or consideration for someone
Word Origin for dirt
Word Origin and History for dirt
15c. metathesis of Middle English drit, drytt "mud, dirt, dung" (c.1300), from Old Norse drit, cognate with Old English dritan "to void excrement," from Proto-Germanic *dritanan (cf. Dutch drijten, Old High German trizan).
Used abusively of persons from c.1300. Meaning "gossip" first attested 1926 (in Hemingway); dirt bike is 1960s. Dirt-cheap is from 1821. Dirt road attested by 1852.
Idioms and Phrases with dirt
dirt
In addition to the idiom beginning with dirt
- dirt cheap
- dirty joke
- dirty look, give a
- dirty one's hands
- dirty tricks
- dirty work
also see:
- dig up (dirt)
- dish the dirt
- eat crow (dirt)
- hit the deck (dirt)
- pay dirt
- treat like dirt
Also see underdirty.