pollute

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To make air, water, or land dirty and unsafe, especially with harmful substances.

   The factory polluted the river when it cleaned its tanks.

2. 2
   verb

   To spoil something good by adding an unwanted or harmful element.

   The lights from the stadium polluted the night sky.

Common collocations

• pollute the air Verb + noun

From Middle English polluten, borrowed from Latin pollūtum, from pollūtus (“no longer virgin", "unchaste”), perfect passive participle of polluō (“soil", "defile", "dishonor”).

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