pollute

verb [T]

/pəˈlut/

Definition

› to make air, water, or earth dirty or harmful to people, animals, and plants, esp. by adding harmful chemicals or waste: Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are polluting the groundwater. pollutant

/pəˈlu·tənt/ noun [C] › Maybe there’s some kind of chemical pollutant in their drinking water.

(Definition of pollute verb from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Focus on the pronunciation of pollute

Our dictionaries

Browse the Thesaurus

“pollute” in other dictionaries

Browse the Dictionary

Word of the Day

jettison

to get rid of something or someone that is not wanted or needed

Word of the Day ►

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.