dirty

dirt|y1 [ `dɜrti ] adjective **

▸ 1 not clean

▸ 2 dealing with sex

▸ 3 using unfair methods

▸ 4 very bad

▸ 5 having illegal drugs

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) not clean:

I felt dirty, hungry, and cold.

diseases spread by dirty water

piles of dirty laundry

dirty fingernails

2. ) usually before noun dirty language or pictures deal with sex in a way that offends some people:

dirty jokes/movies

3. ) usually before noun using dishonest or unfair methods:

Politics is a dirty business.

a dirty fighter

4. ) only before noun INFORMAL used for emphasizing how bad someone or something is:

That's a dirty lie.

5. ) AMERICAN INFORMAL containing or having illegal drugs:

One of the competitors had a dirty urine sample.

air/wash your dirty linen/laundry in public

to discuss private subjects or problems in public

a dirty word

if something is a dirty word, people dislike it or disagree with it, often without good reasons:

For many teachers, change is a dirty word.

do someone's dirty work

to do an unpleasant or dishonest job for someone so they do not have to do it themselves

get your hands dirty

1. ) to do hard physical work

2. ) to become involved in something dishonest

give someone a dirty look INFORMAL

to look at someone in a way that shows that you are angry with them or do not like them

dirt|y2 [ `dɜrti ] verb transitive

to make something not clean, especially by putting marks on it