pollution

pollution — noun

1. the harmful condition that exists when waste, chemicals, or smoke make air, wate

1.nounB1
Definition

the harmful condition that exists when waste, chemicals, or smoke make air, water, land, or seas dirty and unsafe

Example

Black smoke from the old buses caused serious air pollution downtown.

collocation: air pollution

After the oil leak, pollution spread across the beach and nearby rocks.

Common collocations
  • serious pollution
  • river pollution
  • cut pollution
  • pollution fell
Synonyms
  • contamination

    often sounds more technical and often focuses on one place or material, such as water or food

  • environmental damage

    much broader and can include harms that are not caused by dirty substances

  • smog

    only refers to polluted air, especially the thick dirty air in cities

Grammar Patterns

air pollution

water pollution

reduce pollution

Usage Note

Usually uncountable. Distinguish from noun/2, which refers to the polluting substances or emissions themselves rather than the overall environmental problem.

Common Mistakes

The city has many pollutions.
The city has a lot of pollution.
this sense is usually uncountable.

2. waste, chemicals, smoke, or other dirty material that gets into air, water, or l

2.nounB2
Definition

waste, chemicals, smoke, or other dirty material that gets into air, water, or land and makes it harmful

Example

The test found pollution from the factory in the village well.

pattern: pollution from [source]

Plastic pollution washed onto the island after last week's storm as debris.

material type: plastic pollution

Common collocations
  • plastic pollution
  • chemical pollution
  • traffic pollution
  • factory pollution
Synonyms
  • pollutant

    the more exact word when you mean one specific harmful substance

  • contaminant

    often used in technical contexts for a substance found where it should not be

  • emissions

    usually refers to gases, smoke, or particles sent out into the air

  • waste

    broader and can include unwanted material that is not yet polluting anything

Grammar Patterns

plastic pollution

chemical pollution

pollution from [source]

Usage Note

Often modified by a source or material word such as plastic, chemical, factory, or traffic. If you want to name one separate substance, English more often uses pollutant.

Common Mistakes

These pollutions were found in the river.
These pollutants were found in the river.
use pollutant for separate individual substances.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun sense 1, pollution is the broad everyday word for environmental harm caused when air, water, or land becomes dirty or unsafe. Contamination is often more technical and usually points to harmful matter in one thing, such as drinking water, food, or soil. Pollutant names the substance itself, not the overall problem. Emissions usually means gas, smoke, or other material sent out by cars, planes, or factories, especially into the air. Smog is a visible kind of dirty city air, so it is much narrower than pollution. A report may measure pollution across a region, but it may identify one pollutant or one source of emissions. You can talk about river pollution in general, toxic contamination in a well, and thick smog above a city.

contaminationpollutant ↗emissionssmog ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • air pollution
  • water pollution
  • pollution level
  • pollution source

Phrases

  • cause pollution
  • reduce pollution
  • fight pollution
  • forms of pollution

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Pollution comes from Latin polluere, meaning "to make dirty" or "to stain." In English, the word first had a broad sense of defilement or corruption, but today it is most strongly linked with harmful waste and dirty substances in air, water, and land.