grimy
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of grimy
Explanation
Grimy things are so dirty that it takes some scrubbing to clean them. You'll probably feel pretty grimy after a day spent trying to fix the engine of an old car. When something is grimy, the dirt is ingrained or set in, not just on the surface. Jobs that leave you covered in oil, tar, or dirt are grimy. If you wear gloves to transplant your grandma's flowers, you won't end up with grimy fingernails. The adjective grimy comes from grime, "ingrained dirt," which goes back to a root that means "to smear."
Vocabulary lists containing grimy
The Sea of Monsters
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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 plainspoken veteran with a dense beard and a closet full of grimy sweatshirts, Platner fit the bill.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
Summer TV this year has all that—and more, including a new version of an old favorite and a grimy murder mystery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
But his color palette is so grimy that it becomes a hindrance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
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.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2025
Nat looked at her grimy hands, her soot-streaked face.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
“Scream VI” is a grimier entry in the franchise, with some frightening suspense scenes.
From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2023
The “Cinema Novo” movement of social realism commented and pushed back against this political shift, but in that same year, a singular iconoclast mounted a grimier, bloodier form of rebellion newly relevant to our present.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 30, 2020
Vanellope finds a far grimier, “Grand Theft Auto”-like racing game called Slaughter Race, a realm presided over by a stylish driver voiced by Gal Gadot.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 19, 2018
Point guard John Wall wanted the Wizards to become grittier, grimier and dirtier, to resurrect the aggressive nature they had assumed in the recent past.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 17, 2015
It’s grimier than when I clean my usual spot at lunch.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
Deep-cleaning crews have visited many of the grimiest concrete subterranean stations — in some cases, for the first time in years.
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2017
“The difference in the game was we were playing basketball, and they were playing MMA,” Millsap said, frustrated after one of the grimiest 114-107 games you ever will witness.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2017
And it’s hands down, to quote Beyoncé, the grimiest song I’ve heard all year.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2014
Young Jon, however, insisted on driving around in a beat-up van and eating in the grimiest diners possible.
From Time ● May 12, 2011
Every inch of grass was covered with tents—row after crooked row of the grimiest, droopiest tents Nate had ever seen.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
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.
