grimy

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   covered or stained with ingrained dirt, grease, or soot

   He wiped the grimy workshop window with an old cloth.

2. 2
   adj

   morally disreputable, corrupt, or sordid; informal

   The investigation exposed the grimy side of local politics.

Formed from grime + -y. The physical sense means stained with accumulated dirt or soot; the informal moral sense extends that dirtiness to corrupt or disreputable conduct.

Topics