Added 8 October 2026
grime
/ɡɹaɪm/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about grime at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Dirt, grease, soot, etc. that is ingrained and difficult to remove.
Underneath all that soot, dirt and grime is the true beauty of the church in soft shades of sandstone.
- A genre of urban music that emerged in London, England, in the early 2000s, primarily a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop.
verb
Origin
From Middle English grim (“dirt or soot covering the face”), from a specialized use of Old English grīma (“mask”), from Proto-West Germanic *grīmō, from Proto-Germanic *grīmô (“mask”). Likely influenced by dialectal Dutch grijmsel (“grit, grime”), Dutch grijm (“soot, grime”), Middle Dutch gryme (“mask”), Middle Low German greme (“dirt”), compare Danish grime (“a halter”), Danish grimet (“soiled, stripy”), Norwegian Bokmål grimete (“soiled, stripy”), Norwegian Nynorsk grimete (“soiled, stripy”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)