DIRT Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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dirt

[ durt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

any foul or filthy substance, as mud, grime, dust, or excrement.
earth or soil, especially when loose.
something or someone vile, mean, or worthless:
After that last outburst of hers I thought she was dirt.
moral filth; vileness; corruption.
obscene or lewd language:
to talk dirt.
Informal. gossip, especially of a malicious, lurid, or scandalous nature:
Tell me all the latest dirt.
Synonyms: , , ,
private or personal information which if made public would create a scandal or ruin the reputation of a person, company, etc.
Mining.
1. crude, broken ore or waste.
2. (in placer mining) the material from which gold is separated by washing.

dirt

/ ��ɜː�� /

any unclean substance, such as mud, dust, excrement, etc; filth
loose earth; soil
1. packed earth, gravel, cinders, etc, used to make a racetrack
2. ( as modifier )
  a dirt track
mining the gravel or soil from which minerals are extracted
a person or thing regarded as worthless
obscene or indecent speech or writing
slang.
gossip; scandalous information
moral corruption
do someone dirt slang.
to do something vicious to someone
dish the dirt informal.
to spread malicious gossip
eat dirt slang.
to accept insult without complaining
treat someone like dirt
to have no respect or consideration for someone

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Origin of dirt¹

1250–1300; Middle English dirt, drit; cognate with Old Norse drit excrement; compare Old English ��ī�ٲ��

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Origin of dirt¹

C13: from Old Norse drit excrement; related to Middle Dutch ��ŧ�ٱ�

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eat dirt, Informal. to accept blame, guilt, criticism, or insults without complaint; humble or abase oneself:
The prosecutor seemed determined to make the defendant eat dirt.
do (someone) dirt. dirty ( def 18 ).

In addition to the idiom beginning with dirt , also see dig up (dirt) ; dish the dirt ; eat crow (dirt) ; hit the deck (dirt) ; pay dirt ; treat like dirt . Also see under dirty .

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Examples have not been reviewed.

They talked in anxious voices about toxic dirt and elderly parents.

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Inside the canopy, one of the last remaining items was a stuffed Minnie Mouse, her bubblegum pink shoes shaded gray with dirt.

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They are the ghosts of dead empires, clawing at the ankles of the living, trying to pull them back into the dirt.

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As the infrastructure thins out the further you travel, roads are replaced by dirt tracks created by the few vehicles that pass.

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It’s important to clean morels properly and ensure no dirt, debris, or pests are hiding in the mushrooms' crevices.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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