1
as in soil
the loose surface material in which plants naturally grow
dig into the dirt to a depth of about three inches
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
3
as in muck
foul matter that mars the purity or cleanliness of something
there's some dirt on your shoes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene
appalled by the dirt in the author's novels
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dirt
Concrete beams standing in the dirt like tall tombstones.
—
Daniel Estrin, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
Knapton’s garage had been broken into twice before, with dirt-bikes stolen, Lustig said.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 7 Nov. 2025
On October 27th, a video went out over social media that showed at least nine men sitting slumped in a row beside a dirt track in the city of El Fasher, in Sudan’s Darfur region.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
This has become the central theme of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—probably the most chaotic show in its franchise—whose characters are always trying to root out which of their frenemies is furtively digging up dirt and spreading rumors about their legal or financial woes.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dirt
Daniel Estrin, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
Knapton’s garage had been broken into twice before, with dirt-bikes stolen, Lustig said.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 7 Nov. 2025
On October 27th, a video went out over social media that showed at least nine men sitting slumped in a row beside a dirt track in the city of El Fasher, in Sudan’s Darfur region.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
This has become the central theme of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—probably the most chaotic show in its franchise—whose characters are always trying to root out which of their frenemies is furtively digging up dirt and spreading rumors about their legal or financial woes.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dirt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirt
Noun
-
Chestnut trees hold soil, resist erosion, and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.—
Todd Plummer,
Vogue,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Plant the bulbs in rich, well-draining, slightly acidic soil in a garden space that gets full sun.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Whittle Fire has been burning on private land.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Apollo’s entry is useful for the massive €800m ‘Sports City’ currently being built on land the club owns surrounding the Metropolitano, including a new training ground for Diego Simeone’s first team, and public facilities for golf, padel and skating, and Europe’s largest inland surfing centre.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
But the mandates also help colleges shovel heaps of bureaucratic muck—validating data for accreditation, carrying out enrollment, flagging troubled students, aggregating metrics of all kinds.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Since the April 2022 closing of the $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, investors have been dragged into the muck.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
He is charged with open and lewd grossness.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
-
In fact, plenty of other things in your home surpass the toilet in terms of grossness.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Rodents left dung pieces in the bun storage area (over 25); dry storage shelves (over 10); the front counter cabinet where the soda machine equipment is (over 10); and behind the air conditioning unit on the second floor (over 20).—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Or that tossed off, scrapped, relegated to the dung heap of failed work, the unconscious keeps turning and turning the deep images and obsessions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Through the integration with Tactical Assault Kit software, the team remotely controlled multiple unmanned ground and surface units across a large, 50-square-mile operational area.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The Tijuana River, which crosses from Mexico into California before emptying into the Pacific Ocean, carries not only water but also trash and millions of gallons of untreated sewage.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
-
How have the odors from sewage flows affected your daily life and health?—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Songs marked explicit mean their lyrics include swear words or other vulgarities.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirt. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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