dirty
Americanadjective
-
dirtier,
comparative
-
dirtiest
superlative
-
soiled with dirt; foul; unclean.
dirty laundry.
-
spreading or imparting dirt; soiling.
dirty smoke.
-
vile; mean; sordid; contemptible.
to play a dirty trick on someone.
- Synonyms:
- shabby, low, execrable, despicable, base
-
obscene; pornographic; indecent.
a dirty joke.
- Synonyms:
- vulgar, raunchy, lewd, lascivious, nasty
-
undesirable or unpleasant; thankless.
He left the dirty work for me.
-
very unfortunate or regrettable.
That's a dirty shame!
-
not fair or sportsmanlike; unscrupulous.
a dirty fighter.
-
hostile, insulting, contemptuous, or resentful.
She gave me a dirty look.
He made a dirty crack about the cooking.
-
(of a nuclear weapon) producing a relatively large amount of radioactive fallout.
-
(of the weather) stormy; squally.
It looks dirty to windward.
-
Informal. obtained through illegal or disreputable means.
dirty money.
-
appearing as if soiled; dark-colored; dingy; drab.
- Synonyms:
- dull
-
Slang. using or in possession of narcotics.
-
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)
-
dirties,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dirtied,
past participle, past
-
dirtying
present participle
adverb
-
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
-
(of a colour) not clear and bright; impure
-
unfair; dishonest; unscrupulous; unsporting
-
mean; nasty
a dirty cheat
-
scandalous; unkind
a dirty rumour
-
revealing dislike or anger
a dirty look
-
(of weather) rainy or squally; stormy
-
(of an aircraft) having projections into the airstream, such as lowered flaps
-
(of an explosive device) modified to cause radioactive contamination Compare clean
-
slang to be offended by or be hostile towards
-
a despicable person
-
informal intimate secrets, esp those that might give rise to gossip
-
slang dishonest behaviour
-
-
an obscene word
-
something that is regarded with disapproval
federalism is a dirty word
-
-
unpleasant or illicit activity
-
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
-
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:
He adds: "Even just in my graduating class in that little town, so many of the kids are gone. It's kind of staggering. Such a dirty business."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
From Stanley cups to dirty soda franchises, everything’s a little bit more SEC and a little less Ivy in 2026.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Kalinowski described the last Wendy’s he went to, in Maryland, as dirty and said there was only one other customer in the restaurant, who may have only been there to use the bathroom.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
In an accompanying video, Mr. Robbins explained his post, saying, “Gloves off. You wanna play dirty, we’re gonna play dirty.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Boo carries dirty glasses to the kitchen, Ana and I wipe the table, and CPU licks frosting off the floor.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
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
In its furnaces the power plant burned coal, and out of its chimneys black smoke poured day and night, blanketing the town with soot and making all the floors dirtier than ever.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
Stravinsky said of the poet “he is the dirtiest man I have ever liked.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
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
Of the 490 beaches that Heal the Bay monitored between 2025 and 2026, the top 10 dirtiest also included six in San Mateo County, one in San Diego County and another in Humboldt County.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 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
Once, it happened to Nick, who is the dirtiest kid in school, not very big, red hair.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
“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
The windows are another part of the spacecraft not quite working as planned after they were dirtied by the astronauts spending a lot of time "glued to the windows" while taking photographs.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 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
And it’s only possible underground, in a place where the apocalypse hasn’t dirtied the tablecloths.
From Salon ● May 12, 2025
Soon after word of the war’s end reaches Bertie and Sofie, Bertie discovers an emaciated young man unconscious in the asparagus patch “in the dirtied stripes of a camp prisoner.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2025
As they drew closer to the city walls, the tents appeared more and more like permanent fixtures, the canvas walls dirtied with grime from fires burning in hastily dug pits.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
Groups, including the United Nations children's charity Unicef, have said that girls in Sierra Leone often miss school during their periods for fear of dirtying their uniform.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
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
Next, the dough gets slathered with a honey butter you can make in the microwave if you don’t feel like dirtying a saucepan.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2023
The idea of Francis and me dirtying our hands with experiments brought unconcealed amusement.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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.
