to soil
- verb
- /sɔɪl/
- I mopped my face hurriedly and tucked the soiled kerchief in my belt.
- soil the paper
- become soiled
- soiled hands
I would rather have a beggar's crust and have them murder me unarmed and unresisting than to soil my life with their blood, right?
- I would rather have a beggar's crust and have them murder me unarmed and unresisting than to soil my life with their blood, right?
- He had flip flops and prison shorts because if you went to the gallows with those, you soil the shorts and then they got a washer.
Examples
-
Looks like he feels unclean, unshaven, slightly drunk, his clothes soiled, torn, and disheveled.
Fiction book (1990) -
And if any of the suspects' clothes were soiled, there might be perfectly innocuous explanations.
Fiction book (1993) -
I'm not going to soil anything.
-
On the couch sat a man in a soiled dark blue suit.
Fiction book (1993) -
You soiled the sanctity of my home!
-
The dive's owner, Lloyd, a fat, aging biker-type in a soiled apron, stands behind the bar.
Fiction book (1991) -
Wastewater from kitchen sinks, dishwashers, or laundering of soiled diapers typically is heavily contaminated.
Academic text (2002) -
He accidentally soiled his shirt while eating lunch.
-
The children soiled the clean floor with muddy footprints.
-
Please be careful not to soil the documents with ink.
Synonyms
To put color on something to change how it looks
To make something dirty or blocked so it does not work properly
To make something unclean or covered with dirt
Make something dirty with mud or sediment
To make something dirty with mud
To make something dirty by covering it with mud
To put a dirty mark on something like a dress or carpet
To make something dirty by covering it with dirt or soot
To make something dirty with wet dirt, for example shoes or floors
To cover something with dark dirt so it becomes dirty
To splash mud or water onto something and make it dirty
To make something dirty with mud or dirt
To cover someone or something with mud
To stain something with black dirt or soot
To mark with spots or stains
To make something dirty or stained
To make something wet or dirty
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
Add compost or other nutrients to soil to make it better for growing plants
Compounds
- Specialized
Actions that stop soil washing away and keep it good for growing plants
- Specialized
Fertile black soil with a thick layer of rotting plant material that grows crops well
- Specialized
Fine earth left by rivers that is soft and very good for growing crops
A former 19th century US party that opposed slavery spreading into western lands
- Archaic
Of states or territories in the United States that did not allow slavery before the Civil War
- Australian
Soil with small raised areas and low dips that forms in clay and swells and shrinks
- Indian
A rich black soil found in India that is very good for growing cotton and other crops
- Specialized
Acidic soil with low nutrients found under pine trees in cold, wet areas
A soil that forms in cold, wet areas under pine trees with a dark organic mat over a pale layer
- Specialized
A side view of the ground showing soil layers from topsoil down to the rock beneath
- Archaic
A government plan that pays farmers to rest fields and grow plants to improve soil
- Specialized
A material added to soil like compost to help it hold water and let air in
How Dirty
Surface Forms
Etymology
Soil as a verb comes from the noun for dirt; to soil something is to 'make it dirty', either by mud on clothes or by staining someone's reputation.