grime
Americannoun
-
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)
noun
-
dirt, soot, or filth, esp when thickly accumulated or ingrained
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a genre of music originating in the East End of London and combining elements of garage, hip-hop, rap, and jungle
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grime
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English grim; apparently special use of Old English grīma “mask,” to denote layer of dust; compare dialectal Dutch grijm
Explanation
Grime is gross, greasy, ingrained dirt, like the grime on your neighbor's van that tempts you to write "Clean Me" in it with your finger. You may find grime under your fingernails for days after your auto mechanics class, black oily dirt that requires a lot of scrubbing to remove. It's less common, but you can also use this word as a verb, meaning to make something this dirty: "They're going to grime the kitchen floor if they don't take their boots off!" The Germanic root of grime means "to smear."
Vocabulary lists containing grime
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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Born Behind Bars
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The Night Diary
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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.
Signs of poor cleaning include strong urine odors, dirty floors, and visible grime.
From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026
Richardson described it as "quite a common thing", for people to "make your money in the smoke and grime of Liverpool but you don't want to live there, and instead move out into the country".
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
In addition to grime, gore and disdain for governments, the ragtime gangsters of “Peaky Blinders” provided a minor education.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
She and other Alexandrians agree the tramway needs work: inside the hand-calligraphied blue exterior, grime covers every surface.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
With tiny strokes of her pinkie finger, she traced the letters in the grime of the windowpane, mouthing the sounds as she wrote.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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.
