Words / A2

DURT/dɜːt/

Dirt is earth or mud that makes things unclean: wipe off the dirt, a dirt track, covered in dirt. Dirty is the adjective. Soil is garden earth, often more neutral. Flirt is a different word. Do not write dirt when you mean dirty (the adjective), or earth as if every patch were “dirt”.

Meaning

Earth or mud that makes things unclean.

Examples

• “Wipe the dirt off your boots before you come in.”
• “There was dirt on the carriage floor after the hike.”
• “Brush the dirt from the tent before you pack it.”

Good to know

wipe off the dirt / a dirt track. Adjective: dirty. Mix-up: dirty as if it were the noun.

Near in meaning

mud

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