# dirty

/ˈdɝti/ (US) · /dˈɜːti/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/dirty
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. unclean

adjective · CEFR A1

covered with dirt, mud, or something else that is not clean.

For teachers: soiled or stained with physical impurities such as grime, dust, or mud.

- Don't sit on the sofa in those dirty clothes after playing outside.
- The mechanic's hands were permanently stained with dirty oil, a testament to decades spent repairing heavy machinery in the workshop.

### 2. unfair or dishonest

adjective · CEFR B1

unfair, dishonest, or breaking the rules.

For teachers: violating accepted standards of fairness, ethics, or legality.

- The politician was accused of using dirty tricks to win the election.
- The investigation revealed a series of dirty financial deals that had been hidden from the board of directors for years.

### 3. obscene or indecent

adjective · CEFR B2 · Informal

related to sex in a way that some people find offensive or rude.

For teachers: morally offensive, indecent, or lewd, particularly in a sexual context.

- He was embarrassed when his friend told a dirty joke at the dinner table.
- The censors demanded that several dirty passages be removed from the manuscript before it could be approved for general publication.

### 4. with olive juice

adjective · CEFR C1 · Informal

used to describe a cocktail, like a martini, that has olive juice in it.

For teachers: referring to a cocktail, typically a martini, prepared with the addition of olive brine or juice.

- She ordered a dirty martini with extra olives at the hotel bar.
- The bartender noted that a truly dirty martini requires high-quality brine to balance the botanical notes of the gin.

### 5. unhealthy and indulgent

adjective · CEFR C1 · Slang

used to describe food that is very high in fat or calories but tastes great.

For teachers: referring to food that is highly indulgent, often featuring excessive toppings or high caloric density.

- We went out for dirty fries covered in cheese and bacon after the game.
- The menu specialized in dirty burgers, attracting a late-night crowd looking for maximalist comfort food.

### 6. containing noise

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical

having unwanted background noise or distortion in a recording.

For teachers: characterised by unwanted signal noise, distortion, or lack of acoustic clarity.

- The producer wanted a dirty guitar sound for the rock track.
- The engineer spent hours trying to clean up the dirty audio feed from the remote location before the broadcast went live.

### 7. to make unclean

verb · CEFR B1

to make something become not clean.

For teachers: to soil or stain something; to cause a surface to become physically unclean.

- Try not to dirty your new shoes while walking through the park.
- The children managed to dirty the white carpet within minutes of arriving home from their rainy football practice.

## Examples

- Be careful not to dirty your new shoes in the garden.
- The children managed to dirty the white carpet with their muddy boots before I could stop them.
- Industrial runoff can quickly dirty local waterways, leading to long-term ecological damage that requires expensive filtration systems to reverse.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.