grime

/graɪm/

/graɪm/

Other forms: grimes; grimed; griming

Grime is gross, greasy, ingrained dirt, like the grime on your neighbor's van that tempts you to write "Clean Me" in it with your finger.

You may find grime under your fingernails for days after your auto mechanics class, black oily dirt that requires a lot of scrubbing to remove. It's less common, but you can also use this word as a verb, meaning to make something this dirty: "They're going to grime the kitchen floor if they don't take their boots off!" The Germanic root of grime means "to smear."

Definitions of grime

1. noun

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

   type of:

   dirtiness, uncleanness

   the state of being unsanitary
2. verb

   make soiled, filthy, or dirty
   synonyms: begrime, bemire, colly, dirty, soil

   types:

   foul

   make unclean

   contaminate, foul, pollute

   make impure

   smear

   stain by smearing or daubing with a dirty substance

   slime

   cover or stain with slime

   muddy, muddy up

   dirty with mud

   splash

   soil or stain with a splashed liquid

   mire, muck, muck up, mud

   soil with mud, muck, or mire

   crock

   soil with or as with crock

   blemish, spot

   mar or impair with a flaw

   infect, taint

   contaminate with a disease or microorganism

   moil

   moisten or soil

   besmirch, smirch

   smear so as to make dirty or stained

   pollute

   contaminate (the environment) with waste or harmful substances

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation