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as in land
the solid part of our planet's surface as distinguished from the sea and air at the first sound of gunfire we hit the dirt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in dung
solid matter discharged from an animal's alimentary canal tread carefully, as there's cow dirt all over the pasture

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dirt The head is covered with a microfiber pad to wipe away any dirt and other residues that come loose. Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025 The shallow knobs are great for pavement and light dirt or sand terrains. Bestreviews, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2025 The project kept dirt under his nails for the better part of a decade. Laura Mallonee, Wired News, 12 Apr. 2025 In the center of the card, next to a phone pole, is a hog roaming the dirt Main Street — with what seems to be several smaller pigs. Ray Hanley, Arkansas Online, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dirt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirt
Noun
  • Teams will eventually undertake soil studies and drone-based, multispectral ground sensing to measure potential improvements to soil quality and carbon capture capacity on farmland that uses these techniques.
    Robin Roenker, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
  • To minimize outdoor pollution during poor air quality, officials urged people to carpool; telecommute; reduce trips or take public transportation; slow down when driving on dirt roads; and stabilize loose soils.
    Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The wild card will be where President Trump and key MAGA influencers land.
    Stef W. Kight, Axios, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The now vacant patch of land is roughly a mile west of Interstate 35W, within walking distance of a post office, a gas station, a high school and miles of subdivisions.
    Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The war settled into a brutal battle of attrition with limited movement along a frontline stretching for 600 miles through muck of eastern Ukraine.
    Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2025
  • The Clippers’ success lately isn’t just stemming from them making games ugly with their defense and slogging through the muck.
    Zach Harper, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Ancient Egyptians also revered dung beetles because the rolling of the dung balls reminded them of the sun god rolling the sun across the sky, according to the Israel Museum.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Living in the wood economy means relying on wood, dung, and other basic bioenergy.
    Ted Nordhaus, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2016
Noun
  • While on the road - Opt for the middle lanes and remain on higher ground.
    STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The statement added that the aircraft are designed to destroy ground and air targets, and infrastructure facilities covered by air defense systems.
    Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The pumps in these sewage ejector pits have moving parts.
    Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 12 Apr. 2025
  • For whatever reason, the default federal approach has been to assume that U.S. taxpayers should help pay for any efforts needed to slow the sewage onslaught from Tijuana.
    U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Lashing out from the White House, Mr. Trump used a vulgarity to accuse Mr. Xi and Mr. Lam of plotting to exploit the United States.
    Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Those incidents range from keying swastikas to spray-painting other vulgarities.
    Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • When polio workers came door-to-door in late April last year in his village of simple mud and brick houses, the child had a fever.
    Ruchi Kumar, NPR, 16 Apr. 2025
  • The hotel’s lobby bar and connected lounge spaces are filled with an impressive collection of African art, from masks to textiles like mud cloth sourced from Benin, the Congo, Ethiopia, and the Tuareg people.
    Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Dirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirt. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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