rhizoverbBeta
DictionarygrimeGround-in dirt
noun / verb

grime

GRYME/ɡraɪm/

Dirt stuck firmly to a surface.

A stubborn layer of grime coats the metal around the burner.

A close-up of a metal stovetop burner surround coated with stubborn, greasy black-brown dirt, with a narrow scrubbed patch revealing clean metal beneath.
Etymology
grimeMiddle Englishdirt, filth

Grime probably continues Middle English grim, meaning dirt or filth, but its origin is uncertain. The selected sense emphasizes dirt firmly embedded in or clinging to a surface.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain119:02
towards the sewer gratings the door which faced them was blotched and discolored and a faint light in the fan pane above it served to show the dust and the grime which covered it
1920s Fiction: Arthur Conan Doyle - Tales of Terror (Audiobook)

More examples

  • She scrubs the stubborn grime from the tiles.
  • The machine is grimed with dust and grease.
  • A clean patch appears beneath the layer of grime.

Forms

grime · grimes · grimed · griming

Similar words

dirt
The general term without emphasizing a stubborn coating.
filth
Filth is offensive dirt generally; grime is dirt ingrained or accumulated on a surface.