dirt

noun

ˈdərt 

1

a

: excrement

b

: a filthy or soiling substance (such as mud, dust, or grime)

c

archaic : something worthless

d

: a contemptible person

treated me like dirt

2

: loose or packed soil or sand : earth

a mound of dirt

a dirt road

3

a

: an abject or filthy state : squalor

living in dirt

b

: corruption, chicanery

vowed to clean up the dirt in the city government

c

: licentiousness of language or theme

d

: scandalous or malicious gossip

spreading dirt about his ex-wife

e

: embarrassing or incriminating information

trying to dig up dirt on her political rivals

Synonyms of dirt

• soil
• ground
• mud
• sand

Examples of dirt in a Sentence

Pack dirt loosely around the base of the plant.

You've got some dirt on your face.

Their shoes were covered with dirt.

No amount of cleaning will get rid of all this dirt.

Recent Examples on the Web

How Often To Clean Wood Floors Keep your wood floors clean to prevent scratches from crumbs, dirt, and grit. —Zoe Gowen, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2025

How the restoration came together Gunnar Wynarski, a vehicle specialist at Volkswagen, said the damage to the vehicle, including dirt, embers and ash that had blown into the broken rear window, was extensive. —Eric D. Lawrence, Freep.com, 21 Nov. 2025

The insides of these craters likely have not been disturbed other than the small amount of lunar dust, dirt, and debris that’s landed in them due to other, subsequent strikes on the Moon in hundreds of millions or even billions of years. —Big Think, 21 Nov. 2025

Not until the 2011-12 broadcast season, or Year 6 of SNF, did NBC’s NFL juggernaut tamp the dirt down over the last pretender. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English drit, from Old Norse; akin to Old English drītan to defecate

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing dirt

• dirt bike
• dirt cheap
• dirt farmer
• dirt floor
• dirt-poor
• dirt road
• hit/strike pay dirt
• hit the dirt
• in the dirt
• pay dirt
• treat (someone) like dirt

Rhymes for dirt

• blurt
• chert
• curt
• flirt
• girt
• hurt
• peart
• pert
• shirt
• skirt
• spurt
• squirt

Kids Definition

dirt

noun

ˈdərt 

1

: a filthy or soiling substance (as mud, dust, or grime)

2

: loose or packed earth : soil

a mound of dirt

3

a

: corruption sense 2

b

: indecent language : obscenity

4

: harmful gossip

stop spreading dirt about him