- 1any substance that makes something dirty, for example dust, soil, or mud His clothes were covered in dirt. First remove any grease or dirt from the surface. The problem with white is that it easily shows the dirt.
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- 2loose earth or soil He picked up a handful of dirt and threw it at them. Pack the dirt firmly around the plants. They lived in a shack with a dirt floor. Thesaurussoil
- dirt
- mud
- dust
- clay
- land
- earth
- ground
- soil the top layer of the earth in which plants grow:Plant the seedlings in damp soil.
- dirt soil, especially loose soil:Pack the dirt firmly around the plants.
- mud wet soil that is soft and sticky:The car got stuck in the mud.
- dust a fine powder that consists of very small pieces of rock, earth, etc:A cloud of dust rose as the truck pulled away.
- clay a type of heavy sticky soil that becomes hard when it is baked and is used to make things such as pots and bricks:The tiles are made of clay.
- land an area of ground, especially of a particular type:an area of rich, fertile land
- earth the substance that plants grow in or where people are buried after they die
- ground an area of soil:The ground was still wet from the rain. They drove across miles of rough, rocky ground. Ground is not used for loose soil:a handful of dry ground
- good/rich soil/land/earth
- fertile/infertile soil/land/ground
- to dig (at/in) the soil/mud/clay/land/earth/ground
- to cultivate/plow the soil/land/earth
- 3(informal) unpleasant or harmful information about someone that could be used to damage their reputation, career, etc. Do you have any dirt on the new guy?
- 4(informal) = excrement dog dirt Idioms
to tell people unkind or unpleasant things about someone, especially about their private life She loves to dish the dirt on her sisters.
to harm someone's reputation by saying bad things about them
to fall to the ground
to suddenly be in a successful situation, especially one that makes you rich The band really hit pay dirt with their last album.
to treat someone with no respect at all They treat their workers like dirt.
Check pronunciation: dirt