Finesentence

Dirt Meaning: Definition, Examples, and Translations

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dirt

dirt

🇺🇸 /ˈdɝt/ · 🇬🇧 /dˈɜːt/

Definitions

Context #1 | Noun

on the ground

Soil or earth, especially when loose or compacted.

Synonyms

earth, grime, mud, soil.

Examples of usage

  • The children were playing in the dirt.
  • She wiped the dirt off her shoes.
  • The dirt road was bumpy and dusty.
Context #2 | Noun

informal

Dishonest or shameful behavior; scandalous or immoral actions.

Synonyms

gossip, muck, scandal, slander.

Examples of usage

  • He uncovered the dirt on the corrupt politician.
  • There's a lot of dirt in the entertainment industry.
Context #3 | Verb

informal

To soil with mud, dust, or dirt.

Synonyms

pollute, smudge, stain, tarnish.

Examples of usage

  • The dog dirtied the freshly washed carpet.
  • She accidentally dirtied her white dress.

Translations

To see the translation, please select a language from the options available.

Quick facts about “dirt”

Dirt is a 1-syllable noun and verb. It is pronounced /ˈdɝt/ in American English and /dˈɜːt/ in British English. On finesentence.com it has 3 meanings, 12 synonyms, and translations into 21 languages. It ranks #5,427 among the most common English words.

Origin of 'dirt'

The word 'dirt' has Old English origins, derived from the Proto-Germanic word 'durtan', meaning ground, soil. Over time, the word evolved to refer to soil or earth, as well as to describe dishonest or scandalous behavior. The use of 'dirt' to imply scandalous actions became more common in informal language. Today, 'dirt' is a versatile word that can describe both physical material on the ground and immoral behavior.

See also: dirtily, dirty.

Rhymes

Dirt rhymes with cert, evert, peart, vert, hurt, shirt, assert and alert.

See all rhymes →

Word Frequency Rank

At #5,427 in frequency, this word belongs to advanced vocabulary. It's less common than core vocabulary but important for sophisticated expression.