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Geoyo Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

Grime, dirt and soil

What is the difference between these words? Are there any subtle differences in usage? Which refer to solid debris and which to grease or film?
  

Top answer

Grime connotes dirt that has got on an object. For example, "His face was covered in grime" Dirt would be the actual ground material "He was shoveling the dirt" Lastly, soil is the dirt as a whole collective object, but is usually used in a more formal situation "The bad soil contributed to the lack of farming in that area" I Hope this helps.

— Anonymous

  • Grime connotes dirt that has got on an object.
  • For example, "His face was covered in grime" Dirt would be the actual ground material "He was shoveling the dirt" Lastly, soil is the dirt as a whole collective object, but is usually used in a more formal situation "The bad soil contributed to the lack of farming in that area" I Hope this helps.
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10 Answers
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Grime connotes dirt that has got on an object. For example, "His face was covered in grime"
Dirt would be the actual ground material "He was shoveling the dirt" Lastly, soil is the dirt as a whole collective object, but is usually used in a more formal situation "The bad soil contributed to the lack of farming in that area"
I Hope this helps.
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Thank you that was helpful! I still do not fully understand the difference between soil and grime. Can you please tell me what a stain of ketchup or grease on the floor would be called, is it soil or grime? Or if you walk on the floor with wet dirty shoes, is it soil or grime? And what is dust or sand called?
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Can someone please help me with this? It would be greatly appreciated Emotion: smile
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Here are a few more comments.

Dirt The use of 'dirt' for eg what plants grow in seems to me a feature mainly of American English. In Canada, and in Britain as far as I know, people more commonly say 'earth' in the context of plants. Sometimes 'soil'.
In my idiolect,
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Thank you Clive, that was so helpful. I came up with these expressions while watching commercials for cleaning products, there, the word 'grime' is not uncommon when they talk about removing different kinds of dirt. May I still know what you'd call ketchup or sand on the floor, would it be grime or soil?
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May I still know what you'd call ketchup or sand on the floor, would it be grime or soil? Definitely not.

I'd really just say
There's some ketchup / sand on the floor.
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I'm especially interested if there is a subtle difference in the consistency or texture between 'grime' and 'soil'. Can these words refer to sticky substances, loose debris, stains in clothes, and so on. I found this example on dictionary.com:

The ink soiled his hands.
So the ink is referred to as 'soil', could you exchange that with 'grime'? And what about sand, c
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I'm especially interested if there is a subtle difference in the consistency or texture between 'grime' and 'soil'. Can these words refer to sticky substances, loose debris, stains in clothes, and so on. Broadly speaking, no.
I found this example on dictionary.com:

The ink soiled his hands.
So the ink is referred to as 'soi
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I thought that 'dirt' refers to loose debris, while 'grime' refers to ground-in or sticky substances. Isn't it that way? Referring to sand as 'dirt' seems natural for me, while a stain of dried ketchup does not. I'd refer to the ketchup as 'grime', isn't that correct?

Thank you for explaining the difference between 'soil' as a noun and as a verb, I now understand the difference. But why c
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I thought that 'dirt' refers to loose debris, while 'grime' refers to ground-in or sticky substances. Perhaps true, but in my experience people usually just say 'dirt/dirty'. If it's sticky, we say eg 'There's something sticky on the floor'. Isn't it that way?
Referring to sand as 'dirt' seems natural for me,
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