grimy

[grahy-mee]

adjective

grimier, grimiest 

1. covered with grime; dirty.

   I shook his grimy hand.

Other Word Forms

• grimily adverb
• griminess noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of grimy¹

First recorded in 1605–15; grime + -y ¹

Example Sentences

But for USC under Riley, it felt the same, a late-season game requiring the sort of grimy toughness that his Trojans had yet to show.

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Cohn’s sound design also offered a taste of the grimy, intense New York of the 1970s, but he wanted to remain flexible in terms of period fidelity.

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She took a picture of the grimy hotel room where she stayed, capturing the swirling cursive on the sign for the dialysis center across the street in the background.

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The pipe was dark and grimy, but the travelers were getting desperate.

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Other times, as in “Idols,” Minus’ dissected blend of club pop and dark ambient sounds lends a grimy, industrial feel to her mechanical melodies.

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Related Words

• dingy 
• filthy 
• grubby 
• grungy 
• messy 
• soiled www.thesaurus.com
• squalid