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grimy

Untrustworthy, shady, deceitful.

ˈɡraɪ.miDocumented since 1990s1990sMillennialhistoricalCurrent260 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🎤 Black culture & AAVE
5 definitions
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Seen in the wild
5 citations · last seen May 2026

Etymology timeline

Born ~1990 · 1 year of recorded use
1990Born2026: 5 citationsToday, 2026
Millennial / early-internet eraSee decade cohort →

Seen in the wild

Definitions

US
#1·Apr 26, 2026US

Untrustworthy, shady, deceitful. Stronger than "shady"; often applied to people who'll betray you. Distinct from the literal "dirty" sense.

"That was a grimy move."
Origin: AAVE / hip-hop, particularly NY street culture from the 1990s; canonized via Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, etc.
Heard in the wild
  • “It’s a beautiful day in this grungy, grimy city.”

    — Bluesky· May 2026
  • “New Evil Dead trailer has my least favorite modern horror trope that Red Letter Media points out all the time: Living in a house that is grimy and looks like a haunted house. It's so dumb! I hate it!”

    — Bluesky· May 2026
  • “wip of my favorite sex worker, Grimy 😈🚽 #art #mine #cryptid #he/they #sexwork #furryartist #grimy #wip #gofollowhim #grimygrimygrimy”

    — Bluesky· May 2026
  • “fungal rock would go hard as a genre dirty and grimy but also airy and earthy”

    — Bluesky· May 2026
  • “very different vibe, less high protocol and more grimy and outdoorsy, also if the paw lines got cleaned off i have 2 redraw them lol”

    — Bluesky· May 2026
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Show 4 more dictionary-style senses (imported)
Global
#2·May 2, 2026Global

Morally corrupt, malicious, vile, or selfish; base or dirty; rotten.

Heard in the wild
  • “2. **[^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grimy_Awards#cite_ref-2 "Jump up")**Dart, Chris (February 26, 2013). ["Ill Bill The Grimy Awards \| Exclaim!"](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/ill_bill-grimy_awards). _[Exclaim!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclaim!”

  • “Weisskopf"), _Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts: The Subversive Folklore of Childhood_ (August House, 1995). - Pifer, Lynn."Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts: The Subversive Folklore of Childhood." review of book by Sherman and Weisskopf).”

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Global
#3·May 2, 2026Global

From the urban musical genre called grime.

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Global
#4·May 2, 2026Global

Of a beat or song, darkly atmospheric; having affinities with the style of the of the , especially that of New York.

Cluster: exhausted
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Global
#5·May 2, 2026Global

Stained or covered with grime.

For parents

"grimy" means stained or covered with grime. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.

For ESL learners

"grimy" is informal English meaning stained or covered with grime. It is used widely across English varieties. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "stained or covered with grime" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "grimy" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.

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🎤About Black culture & AAVE slang

Slang from Black American Vernacular English (AAVE), hip-hop, drag and ballroom culture, the Caribbean, and NYC street vocabulary. The single largest source of new mainstream English slang in living memory.

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