Standard Lemma guide

begrime

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /bɪˈɡɹaɪm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /bəˈɡɹaɪm/
  • rhymes with -aɪm

1

verb

Meaning 1

To ingrain grime or dirt which is difficult to remove into (something); also (more generally), to make (something) dirty; to soil.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood), bedizen, befile, befilth, befoul, begrime, beray, beshit, besmear, besmirch, besully, bewray, blacken, blot, blur, clat, contaminate, darken, defile, dirten, dirty, elt, file, foil, foul, gunk, gunk up, inquinate, scunge, sling mud, slotter, slur, smear, smirch, smudge, smut, smutch, soil, soss, sowl, spot, stain, sullow, sully, tarnish, uggle

Antonyms: clean, cleanse

2

verb

Meaning 2

make soiled, filthy, or dirty

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • don't soil your clothes when you play outside!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dirty, soil, grime, colly, bemire

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

Narrower terms: foul, pollute, contaminate, smear, slime, muddy, muddy up, splash, mire, muck, mud, muck up, crock, blemish, spot

History

Etymology

From be- (prefix meaning ‘about; abundantly; all around; all over’) + grime (“to cake with dirt”).

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: изцапвам (izcapvam) — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Catalan: ensutzar — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Catalan: sollar — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Finnish: liata — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Finnish: skeidata — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Finnish: sotkea — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Manx: sollee — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Polish: brudzić — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Polish: pobrudzić — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Polish: ubrudzić — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Polish: szargać — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Polish: zszargać — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Polish: zabrudzać — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Polish: zabrudzić — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Romanian: a mânji — to make (something) dirty — see also soil
  • Ukrainian: брудни́ти (brudnýty) — to make (something) dirty — see also soil