3 ADJ [ADJ n] A dirt road or track is made from hard earth. A dirt floor is made from earth without any cement, stone, or wood laid on it. □ I drove along the dirt road.
4 N‑SING If you say that you have the dirt on someone, you mean that you have information that could harm their reputation or career. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ on ] Steve was keen to get all the dirt he could on her.
5 PHRASE If someone dishes the dirt on you, they say bad things about you, without worrying if they are true or not, or if they will damage your reputation. [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ He dishes the dirt on his buddies.
6 PHRASE If you say that someone treats you like dirt , you are angry with them because you think that they treat you unfairly and with no respect. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ People think they can treat me like dirt!
di rt bike (dirt bikes ) N‑COUNT A dirt bike is a type of motorbike that is designed to be used on rough ground.
di rt-chea p also dirt cheap ADJ If you say that something is dirt-cheap , you are emphasizing that it is very cheap indeed. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ They're always selling off stuff like that dirt cheap.
di rt-poo r also dirt poor ADJ A dirt-poor person or place is extremely poor.
dirty ◆◇◇ /dɜː r ti/ (dirtier , dirtiest , dirties , dirtying , dirtied )
1 ADJ If something is dirty , it is marked or covered with stains, spots, or mud, and needs to be cleaned. □ She still did not like the woman who had dirty fingernails.
2 VERB To dirty something means to cause it to become dirty. □ [V n] He was afraid the dog's hairs might dirty the seats.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe an action as dirty , you disapprove of it and consider it unfair, immoral, or dishonest. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The gunman had been hired by a rival Mafia family to do the dirty deed. ● ADV [ADV after v] Dirty is also an adverb. □ Jim Browne is the kind of fellow who can fight dirty.
4 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something such as a joke, a book, or someone's language as dirty , you mean that it refers to sex in a way that some people find offensive. □ They told dirty jokes and sang raucous ballads. ● ADV [ADV after v] Dirty is also an adverb. □ I'm often asked whether the men talk dirty to me. The answer is no.
5 ADJ [ADJ n] Dirty is used before words of criticism to emphasize that you do not approve of someone or something. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ You dirty liar.
6 PHRASE If you say that someone washes their dirty linen in public , you disapprove of their discussing or arguing about unpleasant or private things in front of other people. There are several other forms of this expression, for example wash your dirty laundry in public , or in American English, air your dirty laundry in public . [DISAPPROVAL ] □ We shouldn't wash our dirty laundry in public and if I was in his position, I'd say nothing.
7 PHRASE If someone gives you a dirty look , they look at you in a way which shows that they are angry with you. [INFORMAL ] □ Michael gave him a dirty look and walked out.
8 PHRASE Dirty old man is an expression some people use to describe an older man who they think shows an unnatural interest in sex. [DISAPPROVAL ]
9 PHRASE To do someone's dirty work means to do a task for them that is dishonest or unpleasant and which they do not want to do themselves. □ As an elite army hit squad, the army would send us out to do their dirty work for them.
10 PHRASE If you say that an expression is a dirty word in a particular group of people, you mean it refers to an idea that they strongly dislike or disagree with. □ Marketing became a dirty word at the company.
di rty bo mb (dirty bombs ) N‑COUNT A dirty bomb is a nuclear bomb that uses explosives to release radioactive material over a wide area.
di rty tri ck (dirty tricks ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] You describe the actions of an organization or political group as dirty tricks when you think they are using illegal methods to harm the reputation or effectiveness of their rivals. □ He claimed he was the victim of a dirty tricks campaign…
PREFIX dis-
can be added to some words to form words that have the opposite meaning. For example, if someone is dishonest , they are not honest.
dis|abil|ity /d I səb I l I ti/ (disabilities )
1 N‑COUNT A disability is a permanent injury, illness, or physical or mental condition that tends to restrict the way that someone can live their life. □ Facilities for people with disabilities are still insufficient.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Disability is the state of being disabled. □ Disability can make extra demands on financial resources.
dis|able /d I se I b ə l/ (disables , disabling , disabled )
1 VERB If an injury or illness disables someone, it affects them so badly that it restricts the way that they can live their life. □ [V n] She did all this tendon damage and it really disabled her. □ [V -ed] One in five men will be disabled by a stroke. ● dis|abling ADJ □ …skin ulcers which are disfiguring and sometimes disabling.
2 VERB If someone or something disables a system or mechanism, they stop it working, usually temporarily. □ [V n] …if you need to disable a car alarm.
dis|abled /d I se I b ə ld/ ADJ Someone who is disabled has an illness, injury, or condition that tends to restrict the way that they can live their life, especially by making it difficult for them to move about. □ …practical problems encountered by disabled people in the workplace. ● N‑PLURAL People who are disabled are sometimes referred to as the disabled . This use could cause offence. □ There are toilet facilities for the disabled.