dirt

[durt] /dɜrt/
noun
1.
any foul or filthy substance, as mud, grime, dust, or excrement.
2.
earth or soil, especially when loose.
3.
something or someone vile, mean, or worthless:
After that last outburst of hers I thought she was dirt.
4.
moral filth; vileness; corruption.
5.
obscene or lewd language:
to talk dirt.
6.
Informal. gossip, especially of a malicious, lurid, or scandalous nature:
Tell me all the latest dirt.
7.
private or personal information which if made public would create a scandal or ruin the reputation of a person, company, etc.
8.
Mining.
  1. crude, broken ore or waste.
  2. (in placer mining) the material from which gold is separated by washing.
Idioms
9.
do (someone) dirt. dirty (def 18).
10.
eat dirt, Informal. to accept blame, guilt, criticism, or insults without complaint; humble or abase oneself:
The prosecutor seemed determined to make the defendant eat dirt.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English dirt, drit; cognate with Old Norse drit excrement; compare Old English drītan
Synonyms
6. scandal, slander, rumor, scuttlebutt.
British Dictionary definitions for eat dirt

dirt

/dɜːt/
noun
1.
any unclean substance, such as mud, dust, excrement, etc; filth
2.
loose earth; soil
3.
  1. packed earth, gravel, cinders, etc, used to make a racetrack
  2. (as modifier): a dirt track
4.
(mining) the gravel or soil from which minerals are extracted
5.
a person or thing regarded as worthless
6.
obscene or indecent speech or writing
7.
(slang) gossip; scandalous information
8.
moral corruption
9.
(slang) do someone dirt, to do something vicious to someone
10.
(informal) dish the dirt, to spread malicious gossip
11.
(slang) eat dirt, to accept insult without complaining
12.
treat someone like dirt, to have no respect or consideration for someone
Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse drit excrement; related to Middle Dutch drēte
Word Origin and History for eat dirt

dirt

n.

15c. metathesis of Middle English drit, drytt "mud, dirt, dung" (c.1300), from Old Norse drit, cognate with Old English dritan "to void excrement," from Proto-Germanic *dritanan (cf. Dutch drijten, Old High German trizan).

Used abusively of persons from c.1300. Meaning "gossip" first attested 1926 (in Hemingway); dirt bike is 1960s. Dirt-cheap is from 1821. Dirt road attested by 1852.

Slang definitions & phrases for eat dirt

eat dirt

verb phrase

To accept rebuke or harassment meekly; swallow one's pride; eat shit: I ate dirt and apologized to that bastard (1857+)


dirt

noun
  1. Obscenity; pornography: All you see in the movies these days is dirt (late 1500s+)
  2. Gossip; intimate or scandalous intelligence; scoop: What's the dirt about your neighbors? (1920s+)
  3. A despicable person; scum; filth: He's dirt, no better (1300+)
Related Terms

dig dirt, dish the dirt, do someone dirt, eat dirt, hit the dirt, pay dirt, take shit


Idioms and Phrases with eat dirt

dirt

In addition to the idiom beginning with
dirt
also see:
also see under:
dirty