pollute

pollute — verb

1. to damage air, water, land, or another place by putting waste or dangerous mater

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to damage air, water, land, or another place by putting waste or dangerous material into it

Example

Factory smoke polluted the sky above the town for weeks.

pollute + place harmed

Waste from the mine polluted the river near Carlos's farm.

Common collocations
  • pollute the air
  • pollute the river
  • pollute the land
  • pollute with chemicals
  • heavily pollute
Synonyms
  • contaminate

    is more formal and is common in scientific, medical, and technical contexts

  • dirty

    is more general and does not always suggest serious environmental harm

  • poison

    is stronger and stresses making something toxic or dangerous to life

Antonyms
  • clean

    focuses on removing dirt or waste after damage has happened

  • purify

    is more formal and often refers to making water or air safe again

Grammar Patterns

pollute something

pollute something with something

something pollutes something

something is polluted by something

Usage Note

Object is usually air, water, soil, rivers, beaches, or other places used by people, animals, or plants. Common subjects are smoke, oil, chemicals, sewage, and plastic waste.

Common Mistakes

The factory polluted into the river.
The factory polluted the river.
pollute takes a direct object, not 'into'.
The smoke polluted to the air.
The smoke polluted the air.
name the place or thing that becomes dirty or harmful.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Pollute is the usual word when waste, smoke, oil, or chemicals harm air, water, land, or another place in the environment. Contaminate is more formal and is common in science, medicine, and news reports; it can describe food, blood, or lab samples as well as rivers and soil. Dirty is much broader and weaker: a floor or shirt can be dirty without any serious health risk. Poison is stronger and suggests that something has become toxic or deadly. Use pollute for environmental damage: 'The factory polluted the river.' Use contaminate in technical reporting: 'The water supply was contaminated.' Use poison when danger to life is central: 'The spill poisoned the fish pond.'

contaminate ↗dirty ↗poison ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • badly pollute
  • heavily pollute
  • seriously pollute

Phrases

  • pollute the environment
  • pollute drinking water
  • pollute the air with smoke

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Pollute comes from Latin polluere, a verb meaning to make something dirty or spoil it. It passed into English through French. Over time, the word became especially linked to damage caused to air, water, land, and other parts of the environment.