filth
Americannoun
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offensive or disgusting dirt or refuse; foul matter.
the filth dumped into our rivers.
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foul condition.
to live in filth.
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moral impurity, corruption, or obscenity.
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vulgar or obscene language or thought.
noun
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foul or disgusting dirt; refuse
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extreme physical or moral uncleanliness; pollution
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vulgarity or obscenity, as in language
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derogatory the police
Etymology
Origin of filth
before 1000; Middle English; Old English fȳlth. See foul, -th 1
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.
It’s a matter of washing off the filth—with unnatural chemicals, at that—versus never picking up the filth in the first place.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2026
"We're literally living in filth," said Rakotondrina on a tour permeated by the powerful stench of urine.
From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025
It has not been revealed how many of the dogs came from the house in Tickhill, Doncaster, where they were discovered living in filth before being rescued by the RSPCA.
From BBC • Sep. 16, 2025
The harbor neighborhoods are probably the most polluted part of a very polluted city, owing to the filth that the port generates.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2025
It was to escape further contamination by the filth of civilized life; it was to be purified and made good; it was actively to make amends.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
