spreading or imparting dirt; soiling: dirty smoke.
vile; mean; sordid; contemptible: to play a dirty trick on someone.
obscene; pornographic; lewd: a dirty joke.
undesirable or unpleasant; thankless: He left the dirty work for me.
very unfortunate or regrettable: That's a dirty shame!
not fair or sportsmanlike; unscrupulous: a dirty fighter.
hostile, insulting, contemptuous, or resentful: She gave me a dirty look. He made a dirty crack about the cooking.
(of a nuclear weapon) producing a relatively large amount of radioactive fallout.
(of the weather) stormy; squally: It looks dirty to windward.
Informal. obtained through illegal or disreputable means: dirty money.
appearing as if soiled; dark-colored; dingy; murky.
Slang. using or in possession of narcotics.
Foreign Exchange. (of currency floats) manipulated, as by a central bank influencing or changing exchange rates (opposed to clean).
verb (used with or without object),dirt·ied,dirt·y·ing.
to make or become dirty.
adverb
Informal. in a mean, unscrupulous, or underhand way: to play dirty.
Informal. in a lewd manner: to talk dirty.
VIDEO FOR DIRTY
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Idioms for dirty
do (someone) dirty, Slang. to treat unfairly or reprehensibly, as by cheating or slandering.
Origin of dirty
First recorded in 1520–30; dirt + -y1
SYNONYMS FOR dirty
1 grimy, defiled.
3 base, vulgar, low, shabby, groveling.
4 nasty, lascivious, lecherous.
10 rainy, foul, sloppy, disagreeable, nasty.
12 dull, dark, sullied, clouded.
15 soil, befoul, sully.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR dirty ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for dirty
1. Dirty,filthy,foul,squalid refer to that which is not clean. Dirty is applied to that which is filled or covered with dirt so that it is unclean or defiled: dirty clothes.Filthy is an emphatic word suggesting something that is excessively soiled or dirty: filthy streets. Both dirty and filthy can refer to obscenity: a dirty mind, a filthy novel.Foul implies an uncleanness that is grossly offensive to the senses: a foul odor.Squalid, applied usually to dwellings or surroundings, implies dirtiness that results from the slovenly indifference often associated with poverty: a squalid tenement.
That could prevent dirty tricks or an “October surprise” and give watchdogs time to fact-check statements.
Facebook’s Political Ad Ban Also Threatens Ability to Spread Accurate Information on How to Vote|by Jeremy B. Merrill for ProPublica|September 4, 2020|ProPublica
The airlines provide barf bags, but the dirty secret is that people often don’t use them.
What I learned from 5 years of cleaning airplanes in the middle of the night|matthewheimer|August 30, 2020|Fortune
If you want to hurt him because you don’t like him and you want to exploit the connection because he has more cash than you, I guess you can do that, but it feels dirty.
Spilling Sex Secrets for Cash|Eugene Robinson|August 17, 2020|Ozy
Those that arrive damaged or dirty may never return to inventory.
There’s one silver lining for fashion retailers in the pandemic|Marc Bain|August 13, 2020|Quartz
That plant is one of the dirtiest in Texas, both in terms of climate and air quality impacts, according to a Rice University study.
The business model for carbon capture is broken|Tim McDonnell|August 13, 2020|Quartz
She is the author of Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism (Cambridge University Press).
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism|Louise I. Shelley|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was so relieved, until I thought about my dirty pantyhose hanging on the shower at home.
My Love Letter to the Stetson|Mark McKinnon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If only Sulzberger had managed to keep a zipped upper lip while leaving the dirty work to anonymous underlings.
The Bloodiest Media Coups of 2014|Lloyd Grove|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not one Argentine Jesuit lost his life during the dirty war, and he managed to save dozens of people.
How Pope Francis Became the World’s BFF|Jason Berry|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As Americans, we still have a right to air both our dirty laundry and our R-Rated films.
Should the U.S. Really Pay a Kim’s Ransom?|Kevin Bleyer|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You must remember, Sir Thomas, that I am only a dirty little servant.
The City in the Clouds|C. Ranger Gull
She doesn't know my Fauchery: a dirty gent he is, too, palling up with women like that so as to get on in the world.
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille|Emile Zola
I fear it will be long ere you see your good gold in the stead of your dirty paper, even though I gave you an order on the tolls.
The Caged Lion|Charlotte M. Yonge
Mackenzie sent him into a confounded trap to save his own dirty skin.
Plays: Lady Frederick, The Explorer, A Man of Honor|William Somerset Maugham
The man opened a book of printed forms, dipped a pen into a dirty ink-stand, and wrote the date.
The Messenger|Elizabeth Robins
British Dictionary definitions for dirty
dirty
/ (ˈdɜːtɪ) /
adjectivedirtierordirtiest
covered or marked with dirt; filthy
obscene; salaciousdirty books
sexually clandestinea dirty weekend
causing one to become grimya dirty job
(of a colour) not clear and bright; impure
unfair; dishonest; unscrupulous; unsporting
mean; nastya dirty cheat
scandalous; unkinda dirty rumour
revealing dislike or angera dirty look
(of weather) rainy or squally; stormy
(of an aircraft) having projections into the airstream, such as lowered flaps
(of an explosive device) modified to cause radioactive contaminationCompare clean (def. 5)
be dirty onAustralianslangto be offended by or be hostile towards
dirty doga despicable person
dirty lineninformalintimate secrets, esp those that might give rise to gossip
dirty poolslang, mainlyUS, Canadian and Australiandishonest behaviour
dirty word
an obscene word
something that is regarded with disapprovalfederalism is a dirty word
dirty workunpleasant or illicit activity
do the dirty onBritishinformalto behave meanly or unkindly towards