dirt

/dərt/

/dət/

Other forms: dirts

Dirt is earth or soil — it's the substance that makes up the dry surfaces of our planet. Gardeners spend a lot of time digging in the dirt, planting seeds and pulling up weeds.

Dirt is the fine rock that makes up soil, but it also means anything unclean: "Do something about the dust and dirt in this room before our guests arrive!" When you know something embarrassing about another person, especially juicy gossip, you can call that information dirt as well — this meaning was coined by Ernest Hemingway in 1926. The word comes from the Old English drytt, "mud, dirt, or dung."

Definitions of dirt

1. noun

   the part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock
   synonyms: soil

   types:

   marl

   a loose and crumbling earthy deposit consisting mainly of calcite or dolomite; used as a fertilizer for soils deficient in lime

   regosol

   a type of soil consisting of unconsolidated material from freshly deposited alluvium or sand

   residual clay, residual soil

   the soil that is remaining after the soluble elements have been dissolved

   surface soil, topsoil

   the layer of soil on the surface

   subsoil, undersoil

   the layer of soil between the topsoil and bedrock

   alluvial soil

   a fine-grained fertile soil deposited by water flowing over flood plains or in river beds

   bog soil

   poorly drained soils on top of peat and under marsh or swamp vegetation

   clay

   a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired

   clunch

   hardened clay

   desert soil, desertic soil

   a type of soil that develops in arid climates

   caliche, hardpan

   crust or layer of hard subsoil encrusted with calcium-carbonate occurring in arid or semiarid regions

   fuller's earth

   an absorbent soil resembling clay; used in fulling (shrinking and thickening) woolen cloth and as an adsorbent

   gilgai soil

   soil in the melon holes of Australia

   gumbo, gumbo soil

   any of various fine-grained silty soils that become waxy and very sticky mud when saturated with water

   humus

   partially decomposed organic matter; the organic component of soil

   indurated clay

   hardened clay

   Indian red

   a red soil containing ferric oxide; often used as a pigment

   laterite

   a red soil produced by rock decay; contains insoluble deposits of ferric and aluminum oxides

   loam

   a rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand and clay and decaying organic materials

   loess

   a fine-grained unstratified accumulation of clay and silt deposited by the wind

   mold, mould

   loose soil rich in organic matter

   clay, mud

   water-soaked soil; soft, wet earth

   bole

   a soft oily clay used as a pigment (especially a reddish brown pigment)

   podsol, podsol soil, podsolic soil, podzol, podzol soil

   a soil that develops in temperate to cold moist climates under coniferous or heath vegetation; an organic mat over a grey leached layer

   prairie soil

   a type of soil occurring under grasses in temperate climates

   sand

   a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral

   sedimentary clay

   clay soil formed by sedimentary deposits

   silt

   mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake

   boulder clay, till

   unstratified soil deposited by a glacier; consists of sand and clay and gravel and boulders mixed together

   tundra soil

   a black mucky soil with a frozen subsoil that is characteristic of Arctic and subarctic regions

   wiesenboden

   a dark meadow soil rich in organic material; developed through poor drainage in humid grassy or sedge regions

   adobe

   the clay from which adobe bricks are made

   argil

   a white clay (especially a white clay used by potters)

   china clay, china stone, kaolin, kaoline, porcelain clay, terra alba

   a fine usually white clay formed by the weathering of aluminous minerals (as feldspar); used in ceramics and as an absorbent and as a filler (e.g., in paper)

   red clay

   clay whose redness results from iron oxide

   regur, regur soil

   a rich black loam of India

   bleaching clay, bleaching earth

   an adsorbent clay that will remove coloring from oils

   mud pie

   a mass of mud that a child has molded into the shape of pie

   chernozemic soil

   a rich black loam of Russia

   pipeclay, terra alba

   fine white clay used in making tobacco pipes and pottery and in whitening leather

   bentonite

   an absorbent aluminum silicate clay formed from volcanic ash

   fireclay

   a heat-resistant clay

   Kitty Litter

   granulated clay; placed in a container where it absorbs the waste products of a cat or dog

   potter's clay, potter's earth

   clay that does not contain any iron; used in making pottery or for modeling

   daub

   material used to daub walls

   leaf mold, leaf mould, leaf soil

   soil composed mainly of decaying leaves

   mire, slop

   deep soft mud in water or slush

   type of:

   earth, ground

   the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface
2. noun

   the state of being covered with unclean things
   synonyms: filth, grease, grime, grunge, soil, stain

   type of:

   dirtiness, uncleanness

   the state of being unsanitary
3. noun

   disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
   synonyms: malicious gossip, scandal

   type of:

   comment, gossip, scuttlebutt

   a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people
4. noun

   obscene terms for feces
   type of:

   BM, dejection, faecal matter, faeces, fecal matter, feces, ordure, stool

   solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels
5. adjective

   (of roads) not leveled or drained; unsuitable for all year travel
   synonyms: ungraded

   unimproved

   not made more desirable or valuable or profitable; especially not made ready for use or marketing