grotty

[grot-ee]

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adjective, grot·ti·er, grot·ti·est. Slang.

seedy; wretched; dirty.

Origin of grotty

perhaps grot(esque) + -y¹, though senses do not correspond; apparently not akin to grody

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for grotty

second-rate, miserable, rotten, shabby, cheap, contemptible, crappy, inferior, pathetic, poor, useless, worthless, third-rate

Examples from the Web for grotty

Contemporary Examples of grotty

As for afters, forget a grotty gym shower and leaping into your street-clothes: the post-workout is as much fun as the class.
London’s Own Badass SoulCycle
Emma Woolf
March 17, 2014

Historical Examples of grotty

And now, Grotty dear, draw a camp-stool, and bring your heels to an anchor.
The Fortunes of Hector O'Halloran, And His Man Mark Antony O'Toole
W. H. Maxwell

British Dictionary definitions for grotty

grotty

adjective -tier or -tiest British slang

unpleasant, nasty, or unattractive

of poor quality or in bad condition; unsatisfactory or useless

Word Origin for grotty

C20: from grotesque

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for grotty

slang shortening of grotesque, it had a brief vogue 1964 as part of the argot popularized by The Beatles in "A Hard Day's Night." It unconsciously echoes Middle English groti "muddy, slimy," from Old English grotig "earthy," from grot "particle."