Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dirty

/ˈdɝti/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.55 in modern English

Syllables: dirt-y
IPA: /ˈdɝti/

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.

adj

That makes one unclean; corrupting, infecting.

adj

Morally unclean; obscene or indecent, especially sexually.

adj

Dishonorable; violating accepted standards or rules.

adj

Corrupt, illegal, or improper.

adj

adj

Of color, discolored by impurities.

adj

Containing data needing to be written back to memory or disk.

Example Sentences

"Despite a walk in the rain, my shoes weren't too dirty."
"Many persons are more comfortable when they are dirty than when they are clean; but that does not recommend dirt as a national policy."
"Don't put that in your mouth, dear. It's dirty."
"At the reception, Uncle Nick got drunk and told dirty jokes to the bridesmaids."
"He sets up little cameras 'cause he likes to watch her pee / He likes to watch her pee, he's trembling with glee / He sets up little cameras 'cause he likes to watch her pee / What a dirty little bastard he can be"
"We have quite a playful and fun relationship in general, but it’s still surprising how dirty our sex can be in the things we say or do or pretend. We often laugh about it afterwards."

Etymology

From Middle English dirti, alteration of earlier dritti, equivalent to dirt + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German drēterich (“dirty”). See also drite.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: dirti
Suffix: dirt

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈdɝti/
British English: /ˈdɜːti/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Music.

Inflected Forms

dirtier (comparative) dirtiest (superlative) dorty (alternative, Northumbria) more dirty (comparative) most dirty (superlative) dirties (present, singular) dirtying (participle, present) dirtied (participle, past) dirtied (past) dirties (plural)

Derived Forms

bedirty dirtily dirtiness dirtybadwrong dirtyish nondirty undirty

Phrases

air one's dirty laundry in public air one's dirty linen in public dirty bird dirty blond dirty blonde dirty bomb dirty bulk dirty bulking

Frequently Paired Words

unclean worsen

Synonyms

filthy soiled sordid unclean unwashed black befouled besmirched clarty cruddy dirtsome dirty

Antonyms

clean clean as a bean clean as a hound's tooth clean as a new penny clean as a new pin clean as a whistle immaculate pristine spick-and-span spotless squeaky clean stainless

Rhymes With

bertie gertie alberty purtee poverty thirty flirty qwerty purty hurty shirty cherty

Questions

How do you pronounce dirty?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɝti/.
What does dirty mean?: Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.
Where does dirty come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce dirty

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dirty”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdɝti/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “dirty”.
Repeat and practice — Say “dirty” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.