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Synonyms

pollutant

American  
[puh-loot-nt] / pəˈlut nt /

noun

  1. something that pollutes.

  2. any substance, as certain chemicals or waste products, that renders the air, soil, water, or other natural resource harmful or unsuitable for a specific purpose.

pollutant British  
/ pəˈluːtənt /

noun

  1. a substance that pollutes, esp a chemical or similar substance that is produced as a waste product of an industrial process

"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
pollutant Scientific  
/ pə-lo̅o̅t′nt /

  1. A substance or condition that contaminates air, water, or soil. Pollutants can be artificial substances, such as pesticides and PCBs, or naturally occurring substances, such as oil or carbon dioxide, that occur in harmful concentrations in a given environment. Heat transmitted to natural waterways through warm-water discharge from power plants and uncontained radioactivity from nuclear wastes are also considered pollutants.

Other Word Forms

  • nonpollutant adjective

Etymology

Origin of pollutant

First recorded in 1890–95; pollute + -ant

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.

Dissenting in Massachusetts, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that from the court’s reasoning, “it follows that everything airborne, from Frisbees to flatulence, qualifies as an ‘air pollutant.’

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

Such models could improve risk assessments related to ecosystem health, pollutant transport, and carbon cycling.

From Science Daily • Dec. 31, 2025

Although it remains in the atmosphere for about 12 years, the "super pollutant" is roughly 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period.

From Barron's • Nov. 10, 2025

The report from environment groups Size of Wales and WWF Cymru says the soy is high in phosphorous, and becomes a pollutant when animal manure spread on land runs off into rivers.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025

It is a bit of a chemical oddity in that at ground level it is a pollutant, while way up in the stratosphere it is beneficial, since it soaks up dangerous ultraviolet radiation.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

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.