pollute

UK: /pəˈluːt/ US: /pəˈlut/ ,(pə lo̅o̅t′)

Inflections of 'pollute' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

pollutes

v 3rd person singular

polluting

v pres p

polluted

v past

polluted

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pol•lute /pəˈlut/   v. [~ + object] , -lut•ed, -lut•ing. 

1. Ecology to make foul or unclean, esp. with harmful chemical or waste products;
   contaminate:
   to pollute the air with smoke.
2. to make morally unclean;
   defile;
   debase:
   to pollute the mind with bigotry.

pol•lut•er, n. 

[countable] All polluters will be heavily fined.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pol•lute  (pə lo̅o̅t′), v.t., -lut•ed, -lut•ing. 

1. Ecology to make foul or unclean, esp. with harmful chemical or waste products;
   dirty:
   to pollute the air with smoke.
2. to make morally unclean;
   defile.
3. to render ceremonially impure;
   desecrate:
   to pollute a house of worship.
4. Informal Terms to render less effective or efficient:
   The use of inferior equipment has polluted the company's service.

• Latin pollūtus past participle of polluere to soil, defile, equivalent. to pol-, assimilated variant of por- (see pollicitation; here marking the action as complete) + -lū- base of -luere (akin to lutum mud, dirt, lustrum muddy place) + -tus past participle suffix
• Middle English polute 1325–75

pol•lut′er, n. 
pol•lu′tive, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. soil, befoul.
• 2. taint, contaminate, vitiate, corrupt, debase, deprave.

Antonyms

• 1, 2. purify.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pollute / pəˈluːt/ verb (transitive)

1. to contaminate, as with poisonous or harmful substances
2. to make morally corrupt or impure; sully
3. to desecrate or defile

Etymology: 14th Century polute, from Latin polluere to defile

polˈluter noun