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
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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.
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Informal. in a lewd manner.
to talk dirty.
idioms
adjective
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covered or marked with dirt; filthy
-
-
obscene; salacious
dirty books
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sexually clandestine
a dirty weekend
-
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causing one to become grimy
a dirty job
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(of a colour) not clear and bright; impure
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unfair; dishonest; unscrupulous; unsporting
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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
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slang dishonest behaviour
-
-
an obscene word
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something that is regarded with disapproval
federalism is a dirty word
-
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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
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are dirtyingprogressive
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is dirtyingprogressive
-
have been dirtyingperfect progressive
-
has been dirtyingperfect progressive
Past
-
dirtiedsimple
-
had dirtiedperfect
-
was dirtyingprogressive
-
were dirtyingprogressive
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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:
A dirty grey mound is all that remains of the salt mountains that once filled the building, now a weathered steel skeleton.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
The first of their three late-career triumphs, “A Bigger Bang” brings attitude, funk, dirty rockers and dreamy ballads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
This can minimise the risk of fires caused by methane gas buildup, reduce the risk of disease, and improve the tidiness of the disposal area so that the surrounding environment does not look dirty.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Madonna walks back into the past one final time on the album’s closing track, “L.E.S. Girl,” fondly calling her last days before superstardom, where the memory of a long-lost love with dirty hair awaits her.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Dutch trains were dirty and overcrowded under the occupation; the trip that should have taken under an hour took nearly three.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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
The Philippines is allowing consumers to use dirtier fuels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
The new kind of power purchases they’re making are mission critical, much more expensive, and almost certainly dirtier from an environmental perspective, she said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
"It's gone to China, where it's made in a dirtier way," she told the BBC.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
It got bigger, taller, and richer; but it also grew dirtier, darker, and more dangerous.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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
“We were always told that coal is the dirtiest fuel,” Fox Business host Stuart Varney observed to Burgum during an on-air interview last month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
It ranges from the greenest to the dirtiest, from established technologies to speculative ones, and even includes companies that play tangential roles in the sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
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
“You are the dirtiest of the dirty faces,” she had said, laughing, in reply, and given him the first bath he ever had.
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
“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
Parents are asked to wash their children’s toys if they were dirtied with ash, and those who decide to go outside to use N95 or P100 masks for protection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
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
I’ve mussed my hair, dirtied up my face, hidden my purse, and I have a real armband on my coat instead of one that will only bear a glance.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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
“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
Maybe some seedlings had not been planted into their underwater beds properly, or perhaps our pig was eating the wrong kind of garbage, or maybe one of our chickens was dirtying our doorway.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
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.
