-dirt-

n. [ OE. drit; kin to Icel. drit excrement, drīta to dung, OD. drijten to dung, AS. gedrītan. ] 1. Any foul of filthy substance, as excrement, mud, dust, etc.; whatever, adhering to anything, renders it foul or unclean; earth; as, a wagonload of dirt. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Is. lvii. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Meanness; sordidness. [ 1913 Webster ]

Honors . . . thrown away upon dirt and infamy. Melmoth. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. In placer mining, earth, gravel, etc., before washing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dirt bed (Geom.), a layer of clayey earth forming a stratum in a geological formation. Dirt beds are common among the coal measures. --
Dirt eating. (a) The use of certain kinds of clay for food, existing among some tribes of Indians; geophagism. Humboldt. (b) (Med.) Same as Chthonophagia. --
Dirt pie, clay or mud molded by children in imitation of pastry. Otway (1684). --
To eat dirt, to submit in a meanly humble manner to insults; to eat humble pie. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. costing much less than standard price; as, the store went out of business and sold their remaining stock for dirt-cheap prices.
Syn. -- bargain-priced, cut-rate, cut-price. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

adv. In a dirty manner; foully; nastily; filthily; meanly; sordidly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being dirty; filthiness; foulness; nastiness; baseness; sordidness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Dirtier superl. Dirtiest. ] 1. Defiled with dirt; foul; nasty; filthy; not clean or pure; serving to defile; as, dirty hands; dirty water; a dirty white. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Sullied; clouded; -- applied to color. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Sordid; base; groveling; as, a dirty fellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

The creature's at his dirty work again. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Sleety; gusty; stormy; as, dirty weather. [ 1913 Webster ]

Storms of wind, clouds of dust, an angry, dirty sea. M. Arnold.

Syn. -- Nasty; filthy; foul. See Nasty. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dirtied p. pr. & vb. n. Dirtying. ] 1. To foul; to make filthy; to soil; as, to dirty the clothes or hands. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To tarnish; to sully; to scandalize; -- said of reputation, character, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]