dirt

noun

ˈdərt How to pronounce dirt (audio)
Definition of dirtnext
1
as in soil
the loose surface material in which plants naturally grow dig into the dirt to a depth of about three inches

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2
as in land
the solid part of our planet's surface as distinguished from the sea and air at the first sound of gunfire we hit the dirt

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3
as in muck
foul matter that mars the purity or cleanliness of something there's some dirt on your shoes

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene appalled by the dirt in the author's novels

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in dung
solid matter discharged from an animal's alimentary canal tread carefully, as there's cow dirt all over the pasture

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dirt Foliage rustles in the autumn wind here, and where there aren’t corn husks swaying, there are flat, lonely expanses of dirt where crops have been harvested. — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026 Agyabeng described it as a brick building with a roof on top and floor of dirt. — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026 Because food can be scarce there and people fear theft, individuals will store rice in their dirt-floor homes, Wagner says, allowing close contact with the rats that infest the island. — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026 In September, fresh layers of salt — residue of the wastewater — covered the dirt near yellowish puddles of standing water. — Nick Bowlin, ProPublica, 27 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for dirt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirt
  1. soil
  2. land
  3. muck
  4. grossness
  5. dung
  6. ground
  7. sewage
  8. vulgarity
Noun
  • Bukele late Thursday said in his statement on X that the deployment of his soldiers and equipment on Haitian soil is nearly finished.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026
  • By analyzing drone data, the government concluded that they were launched from Ethiopian soil, added Abdel Qader in a SUNA report.
    — YASSIR ABDALLA, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of soil
Noun
  • Its original location on a spit of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the salt pond may have been a bit too ambitious—after suffering damage from the 1938 New England Hurricane, it was relocated across the pond, reopening in 1939.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The Benbrook City Council passed an ordinance aimed at restricting development in flood-prone areas a year after a home builder sought to develop a section of land in the Mary’s Creek floodplain.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of land
Noun
  • Wolf has never sounded more grounded than with 10 toes down in the muck.
    — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
  • As feminists fought patriarchy’s attempt to render women vulnerable socially and leave us dependent on men for money and more, the all-too-human inevitability of vulnerability and dependence got lost in the muck.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of muck
Noun
  • But Paddy’s isn’t Sudz, and the Gang’s efforts to soft-pedal their antics to be more in line with those mainstream bars devolved into typical Sunny-style hostility and off-putting grossness.
    — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026
  • All your Dad has to do is fill it and drink—the microfilter membrane will do the rest by removing chlorine odors, dirt, bacteria, and any other grossness floating around in there.
    — Francesca Krempa, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
Definition of grossness
Noun
  • During the first re-inspection, the inspector saw about 10 pieces of rodent dung under the air-conditioning unit, seven in the hallway by the back door and three under storage by the hallway bathroom.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
  • In southern India, for example, villagers are allowing – and even paying – herders to use their land in exchange for dung, the natural fertilizer that farmers need to produce higher-value organic crops.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of dung
Noun
  • Developed by Ukrainian technology company SkyFall, the drone is intended to reduce rescue times from hours to minutes, reaching hard-to-access combat zones that are currently served by unmanned ground vehicles.
    — DEREK GATOPOULOS, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Democrats are gaining traction in red states and increasingly rebuilding a national brand shredded after the 2024 election, but there’s more ground to regain voters’ trust.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of ground
Noun
  • In October 2025, scientists testing sewage in Hamburg, Germany, found wild polio.
    — Katrine L. Wallace, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Neeley said the floodwaters were receding but left mud and silt, much of which has been contaminated with sewage because of failures at waste plants.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of sewage
Noun
  • Lower courts upheld the ban, finding the veiled vulgarity of the phrase allows schools to ban it.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The diaries—particularly in Julian Sachs’s unexpurgated version, which captures Pavese’s alternating earnestness, archness, and pungent vulgarity—pose something of a problem.
    — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of vulgarity

Phrases Containing dirt

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dirks
dirt
dirtbag
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Cite this Entry

“Dirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirt. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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