dirty
adjective · verb · adverb · noun
Simple meaning
That makes one unclean.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
durteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɝti
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.
That makes one unclean; corrupting, infecting.
Morally unclean; obscene or indecent, especially sexually.
Corrupt, illegal, or improper.
Of food, covered in an array of indulgent toppings.
Of an audio recording: containing unwanted noise.
verb
intransitive
To become soiled.
transitive
To stain or tarnish (somebody) with dishonor.
transitive
To debase by distorting the real nature of (something).
Make soiled, filthy, or dirty
adverb
In a dirty manner.
noun
Anything that is dirty.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.
Used this way, dirty is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- scabrous , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use dirty
- “The air near the foundry was always dirty.”adjective
- “Dirty unswept sidewalks.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An atom bomb that leaves considerable radioactive contamination.
A person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible.
An indelicate joke.
Personal matters that could be embarrassing if made public.
Personal matters that could be embarrassing if made public.
Goods or money obtained illegally.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.