noun 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), grimed, grim·ing. to cover with dirt; make very dirty; soil.
Origin of grime 1250–1300; Middle English grim; apparently special use of Old English grīma ‘mask’, to denote layer of dust; compare dialectal Dutch grijm
Related forms un·grimed , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for grime dust ,
muck ,
filth ,
soot ,
crud ,
tarnish ,
soil ,
smut ,
smudge ,
film ,
gunk ,
gook Examples from the Web for grime Contemporary Examples of grime Cars have national attributes and GM wants their luxury line to grab the glitz of New York instead of the grime of Detroit.
Restorers completed a 12-year project in 1998 that cleaned decades of grime from the ceiling.
That grime came from the cigarette smoke of millions of commuters.
“I am looking to get into the grime rap UK scene,” he told The Sun.
Historical Examples of grime The grime was perpetually renewed; scrubbing only ground it in.
Winford, foul with grime and his clothing torn to rags, stood there.
It was like beholding a dainty flower in the grime and brutality of the branding pen.
It is just a sordid affair of mud, shell-holes, corpses, grime and filth.
A single diamond glittered from the dirt and grime that soiled her finger.
British Dictionary definitions for grime noun dirt, soot, or filth, esp when thickly accumulated or ingrained
a genre of music originating in the East End of London and combining elements of garage, hip-hop, rap, and jungle
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verb (tr) to make dirty or coat with filth
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Derived Forms grimy , adjective griminess , noun Word Origin for grime C15: from Middle Dutch grime; compare Flemish grijm, Old English grīma mask
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for grime n. 1580s, of uncertain origin, probably alteration of Middle English grim "dirt, filth" (early 14c.), from Middle Low German greme "dirt," from Proto-Germanic *grim- "to smear" (cf. Flemish grijm , Middle Dutch grime "soot, mask"), from PIE root *ghrei- "to rub." The verb was Middle English grymen (mid-15c.) but was replaced early 16c. by begrime .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
