pollute
Americanverb (used with object)
-
pollutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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polluted,
past participle, past
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polluting
present participle
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to make foul or unclean, especially with harmful chemical or waste products; dirty.
to pollute the air with smoke.
- Antonyms:
- purify
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to make morally unclean; defile.
- Antonyms:
- purify
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to render ceremonially impure; desecrate.
to pollute a house of worship.
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Informal. to render less effective or efficient.
The use of inferior equipment has polluted the company's service.
verb
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to contaminate, as with poisonous or harmful substances
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to make morally corrupt or impure; sully
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to desecrate or defile
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pollutesimple
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pollutessimple
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have pollutedperfect
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has pollutedperfect
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am pollutingprogressive
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are pollutingprogressive
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is pollutingprogressive
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have been pollutingperfect progressive
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has been pollutingperfect progressive
Past
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pollutedsimple
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had pollutedperfect
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was pollutingprogressive
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were pollutingprogressive
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had been pollutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pollute
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English polute, from Latin pollūtus, past participle of polluere “to soil, defile,” equivalent to pol-, assimilated variant of por- “forth, forward” (variant of prefix per- ), here marking completed action + -lū- base of -luere (akin to lutum “mud, dirt,” lustrum “muddy place”) + -tus past participle suffix; see per-
Explanation
Pollute is a verb that means to make something dirty or impure. You can pollute a river by pouring waste into it, or you can pollute your body by eating way too much candy. Pollute comes from the Latin word pollut-, meaning “soiled.” When you pollute something, it's soiled or contaminated, often by something poisonous. You might have heard the word pollution — pollution is the stuff that pollutes the environment. The word pollute can be used more figuratively to describe something that corrupts or degrades. For example, reading articles about celebrity weddings can pollute your mind.
Vocabulary lists containing pollute
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 9–October 15, 2021
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Unit 20, Lessons 3–4
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Earthquake Terror
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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.
See Examples For:
An "unforgettable" tribute to America, or a health hazard that will terrorize animals and pollute the environment?
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
In addition, they say, the regulations also allow for recycling technologies that pollute, such as chemical recycling, which the law as originally drafted forbids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
He said that the project wouldn’t pollute the water and that Missouri has taken measures to protect ratepayers from financing the utility upgrades needed for data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
If we want you to pollute less, we’ll tax carbon.
From Slate ● Apr. 22, 2026
And wind and solar require almost no water to operate and thus do not pollute water resources or further deplete the water supply by competing with agriculture, drinking water systems, or other water needs.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
But recycling is done with few regulations, pollutes the environment and threatens the health of those involved, both workers and experts told AFP.
From Barron's ● Dec. 16, 2025
"The larger it is, the more it pollutes," said the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, before the vote.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
The risk isn’t just to the workers using it; formaldehyde threatens everyone as it pollutes the air we all breathe and leaks from products long after they enter our homes.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024
Urban runoff that pollutes the ocean frequently begins in these fresh rivers, but, unlike for beaches, there is no statewide oversight, standardization or funding for freshwater pollution monitoring in California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2024
We rise; one wand’ring thought pollutes the day.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
But he said if waterways become polluted, "you're going to get the situation you're in now".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Your bank account can’t protect you if you are breathing polluted air or rely on a dysfunctional health care system.”
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
These studies would compare clean and polluted tropical convective clouds, with particular attention to powerful updraft regions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
On Thursday afternoon, tracker IQAir listed Minneapolis, Detroit and Chicago as the top three most polluted cities in the world.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
And indeed a study made in Holland in the early 1950’s provides support for the view that polluted waterways may carry a cancer hazard.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
He suggested the low prosecution rate "encourages polluting by not having successful deterrents".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Some locals say the renewed jockeying for clients is the latest distraction from the fight over the toxins they believe are polluting their home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
He wants to get the Fed out of narrating its outlook, so as to avoid polluting market signals about that same outlook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
The paper included 15 wedges, three of which involved some form of carbon capture and eight of which involved using traditional fossil fuels, though in more efficient, or less polluting, ways.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Scipio's father waved his hand at them impatiently as if the three children were nothing but annoying birds polluting his house.
From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke
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.
