adj

dirty

DUR-tee

adj

Unclean or covered in dirt, grime, or other unpleasant matter.

"His boots were dirty after the hike through the mud."

"Wash your hands, they look dirty."

Morally unclean, obscene, or indecent, especially in a sexual sense.

"He told a dirty joke that made everyone groan."

"The film was banned for its dirty content."

Corrupt, dishonest, or breaking accepted rules.

"The senator was accused of taking dirty money from lobbyists."

"It was a dirty trick to steal the client at the last minute."

verb

To make something dirty, or to stain someone's reputation.

"The scandal dirtied his name for years."

"Don't dirty the carpet with those shoes."

How to Use Dirty

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishPhysically unclean, or (figuratively) morally wrong, obscene, or corrupt.

Common mistake

In slang, "dirty" can also just mean impressive or intense (e.g. "that dunk was dirty"), which has nothing to do with cleanliness.

Common pairings

dirty hands dirty money dirty trick dirty joke

dirtier comparative, more dirty comparative, dirtied past tense, dirties plural, dirties singular, dirtiest superlative, most dirty superlative

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His boots were _____ after the hike through the mud.

From Middle English dirti, an alteration of dritti, built from dirt plus the adjective ending -y.

assoil beclart bedaub bedirty imbrue (especially with blood) bedizen befile befilth begrime befoul beray besmear

clean make clean

drunk clean pure empty smelly stoned atone organize

thirty flirty

assoil beclart bedaub bedirty imbrue (especially with blood) bedizen befile befilth begrime befoul beray besmear