Wordul · all words

adjective · 2 syllables · /'dɜːr.ti/

DIRTY

What does "DIRTY" mean?

Covered or marked with dirt; not clean.

Meanings

  1. Soiled, unclean, or stained with dirt. He came in from the garden with dirty boots and grass on his knees.
  2. Unfair, dishonest, or unsporting. Spreading those rumours was a dirty trick.
  3. Obscene, lewd, or sexually explicit. He told a dirty joke and immediately regretted it. informal
  4. To make or become soiled. Try not to dirty your shirt before the photos.
  5. In a dishonest or unfair manner. If the other side plays dirty, we walk away. informal

Word origin

From Middle English 'drit' (filth, dung), of Old Norse origin; the adjective 'dirty' developed from 'dirt' by the 14th century.

Remember it

DIRTY hides DIRT plus a Y - what you get when dirt sticks to you.

A little poem

The hands that built the house were never clean-
all honest making leaves a darker sheen.

couplet

Wordplay

  • Why did the laundry feel betrayed? It did all the work and still came out looking dirty.

What it teaches

Real work leaves a mark; clean hands often just mean someone else did the digging.

Quick facts

What does DIRTY mean?

Covered or marked with dirt; not clean.

Is DIRTY a valid word?

Yes — DIRTY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is DIRTY?

DIRTY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.

Where does DIRTY come from?

From Middle English 'drit' (filth, dung), of Old Norse origin; the adjective 'dirty' developed from 'dirt' by the 14th century.

What can DIRTY teach us?

Real work leaves a mark; clean hands often just mean someone else did the digging.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

Play today's Wordul →