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Dirt vs Rubbish - What's the difference?

dirt | rubbish |

As nouns the difference between dirt and rubbish

is that dirt is soil or earth while rubbish is garbage, junk, refuse, waste.

As verbs the difference between dirt and rubbish

is that dirt is to make foul or filthy; soil; befoul; dirty while rubbish is to denounce, to criticise, to denigrate, to disparage.

As an acronym DIRT

is Deposit Interest Retention Tax

As an adjective rubbish is

exceedingly bad; awful; terrible; crappy.

As an interjection rubbish is

expresses that something is exceedingly bad, terrible or awful.

dirt

English

Alternative forms

* (obsolete)

Noun

(en-noun)
  • soil or earth
  • A stain or spot (on clothes etc); any foreign substance that worsens appearance
  • Previously unknown facts, or the invented "facts", about a person; gossip
    • The reporter uncovered the dirt on the businessman by going undercover.
  • Meanness; sordidness.
  • * Melmoth
    • honours thrown away upon dirt and infamy
  • In placer mining, earth, gravel, etc., before washing.

    • Derived terms

    * dirt bike * dirt nap * dirty * do someone dirt

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (rare) To make foul or filthy; soil; befoul; dirty

    • rubbish

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (chiefly, AU, NZ, British, colloquial) Exceedingly bad; awful; terrible; crappy.
    • This has been a rubbish day, and it's about to get worse: my mother-in-law is coming to stay.

    Interjection

  • (colloquial) Expresses that something is exceedingly bad, terrible or awful.
    • The one day I actually practice my violin, the teacher cancels the lesson.
    Aw, rubbish ! Though at least this means you have time to play football...
  • Expresses that what was recently said is untruth or nonsense.
    • Rubbish! I did nothing of the sort!

    Synonyms

    * (expresses that what was recently said is untruth or nonsense) nonsense, bullshit, bollocks

    Noun

    (wikipedia rubbish) (-)
  • Garbage, junk, refuse, waste.
    • The rubbish is collected every Thursday in Gloucester, but on Wednesdays in Cheltenham.
  • Nonsense.
    • Everything the teacher said during that lesson was rubbish . How can she possibly think that a bass viol and a cello are the same thing?
  • Fragments of buildings; ruins; debris.
  • * Dryden
    • He saw the town's one half in rubbish lie.

    Synonyms

    * See also * See also

    Derived terms

    * rubbish bin

    Related terms

    * rubble

    Verb

    (es)
  • To denounce, to criticise, to denigrate, to disparage.

    • Derived terms

    * rubbisher

    References