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🌱 Soil or earth 🗣️ Gossip 🚜 Unpaved 🧼 Something unclean 💩 Feces
dirt

dirt

111 4.8
Secret information that harms someone's reputation
  • noun
  • /dɜrt/
  • Informal
: trapos sucios
  • I mean, this guy had dirt on everybody in the world.
  • dig up dirt

So he has dirt on a lot of powerful people.

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Examples

  • Journalists are taught to investigate, dig for the dirt, and expose the negative side of any story.

    Academic text (2009)

  • What if they find even more dirt?

    House of Gucci (2021)

  • So he has dirt on a lot of powerful people.

    Lex Fridman

  • So someone like that has a lot of dirt on a lot of people, knows a lot.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • I told them about some dirt that had gone on at the company that I knew about.

  • See if you can get some dirt on them.

    Honey Girls (2021)

  • I was surprised that they might think I was trying to dig up dirt or make people look bad.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Listen, Trent has a list of all the dirt on everyone at this school.

  • Because he systematically collected dirt on people.

  • Do you have any dirt on what happened at the meeting yesterday?

Synonyms

gossip
vsdirt
  • Informal
198 1.1

Informal talk about other people's private lives, often with rumors

focuses on talk that reveals secrets likely to harm someone's reputation
talk
vsdirt
  • Informal
118 3.2

Informal conversation about other people that may not be true

involves revealing private secrets that can harm reputation rather than casual chat
dirty laundry
vsdirt
  • Informal
32 5.3

Personal secrets that could cause embarrassment if made public

is the informal discussing of those matters that can damage someone's reputation
grapevine
vsdirt
  • Informal
31 3.5

Rumor spread by people talking rather than by officials

focuses on informal speech that reveals private secrets rather than channel of spread
inside scoop
vsdirt
  • Literature
11 5.5

Secret information that only a few people know about a company or event

is informal talk that exposes damaging secrets rather than trusted confidential facts
scuttlebutt
vsdirt
  • Informal
9 8.8

Rumor or gossip, often not confirmed and shared informally

is talk that reveals private secrets likely to harm reputation, not merely unconfirmed rumor
dirty linen
vsdirt
  • Informal
1 7.9

Private family or personal matters that embarrass people if the public finds out

is casual talk that exposes those family matters and risks reputational harm
malicious gossip
vsdirt
1 7.3

Rumours that try to hurt someone's reputation by spreading private facts

is informal talk that may reveal secrets but not always to harm
backbiting
vsdirt
1 7.2

Showing mean gossip or criticism about someone who is not present

focuses on revealing private secrets rather than general negative talk about someone
gossip and hearsay
vsdirt
  • Informal
1 3.3

Rumors people tell that are not proven true

is informal talk that tends to expose private matters with reputational risk

Antonyms

compliment
300 1.6

A polite remark that praises someone or something

praise
220 1.0

Words or actions that show admiration for someone

Idioms

dirt cheap
  • Informal
15 2.8

Very cheap and costing almost nothing

to hit pay dirt
  • Informal
9 7.5

To find big success or money after trying hard

to eat dirt
  • Informal
5 8.9

To admit you are wrong and accept feeling ashamed, often unwillingly

dirt on someone
  • Informal
1 7.2

Secret facts that could make someone look bad if people know them

to hide the dirt
  • Informal
8.2

To keep secret wrong actions or mistakes from other people

Compounds

dirt bike
21 3.2

A light motorcycle with strong tires and springs for riding on rough unpaved ground

pay dirt
13 7.5

A discovery or idea that makes a lot of money after hard work

dirt track
6 3.7

A racing track for cars or motorcycles with a surface of packed earth rather than pavement

pay dirt
  • Specialized
4 7.2

Earth or rock that has valuable minerals worth mining

dirt ball
  • Offensive
1 8.7

A person who is very unpleasant and treats others badly

dog dirt
  • NSFW
1 7.5

Poop left by a dog outside where people walk

dirt file
  • Literature
1 8.4

A set of secret bad facts about a person kept to use against them

dirt sifter
  • US
4.9

A garden tool that separates soil from stones and debris

How Damaging

scandal
  • Literature
669 2.8
exposé
  • Literature
7.3
dirt
  • Informal
111 4.8
gossip
  • Informal
198 1.1
rumor
  • US
865 1.2

Surface Forms

dirt singular
dirts plural

Etymology

Dirt was used for 'filth', so people began to call bad secret stories 'dirt' because such facts make someone's reputation 'dirty'.