pollutepol‧lute /pəˈluːt/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 
beaches polluted by raw sewage The factory pollutes the air and water.heavily/severely/badly etc polluted The island has been seriously polluted by a copper mine.pollute something with something The rivers had been polluted with aluminium.2to spoil or ruin something that used to be good: an artist spiritually polluted by money and fame3pollute somebody’s mind to give someone immoral thoughts and spoil their character: Violence on television is polluting the minds of our children.
WORD ORIGINpollute
Origin:
1300-1400 Latin past participle of polluereVERB TABLE
pollute
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | pollute |
| he, she, it | pollutes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | polluted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have polluted |
| he, she, it | has polluted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had polluted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will pollute |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have polluted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am polluting |
| he, she, it | is polluting | |
| you, we, they | are polluting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was polluting |
| you, we, they | were polluting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been polluting |
| he, she, it | has been polluting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been polluting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be polluting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been polluting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- An investigation revealed that the mine was polluting both the air and the groundwater.
- Many of these factories pollute the air with hydrogen sulfide.
- Money has polluted the democratic spirit of American politics.
- The company is charged with polluting the River Mersey by allowing crude oil to enter the river.
- The factory explosion, which polluted the surrounding area with dioxin, was reportedly caused by negligence.
- The group wants to ban logging activities that could pollute the water.
- As well as not functioning in a submersed situation, dying cells, releasing adverse substances will pollute the water.
- But the association of menstrual blood pollutes her and she loses for ever the pristine purity of a female child.
- Giving companies tax incentives to clean up and use vacant, polluted lots in cities.
- It is believed the spill is continuing to pollute the region.
- The dreams of nineteenth-century poets polluted the psychic atmosphere of the great boroughs and suburbs of New York.
- This would implant an electronic smart card in cars' engine-management systems, to monitor the quantity of polluting emissions.
Longman Language Activatorto make something dirty and dangerous
to make air, water, the ground etc dirty by putting chemicals or waste products into it, so that it is unsafe for use by people or animals: · An investigation revealed that the mine was polluting both the air and the groundwater.· The company is charged with polluting the River Mersey by allowing crude oil to enter the river.pollute something with something: · The factory explosion, which polluted the surrounding area with dioxin, was reportedly caused by negligence.
to accidentally make a place or a substance dirty and dangerous by adding something to it, for example chemicals or bacteria: · Lead pipes can contaminate drinking water.· The food was contaminated during the production process.
WORD SETSacid rain, nounbiohazard, nounbottle bank, nouncatalytic converter, nounclean-up, nounconservancy, nounconservation, nounconservation area, nounconservationist, nounconserve, verbcontaminant, nouncontaminate, verbeco-, prefixeco-friendly, adjectiveecological, adjectiveecologist, nounecology, nounecosystem, nouneffluent, nounenvironmental, adjectiveenvironmentalist, nounenvironmentally friendly, adjectiveglobal warming, noungreen, verbgreenhouse effect, noungreenhouse gas, noungreen revolution, nounhabitat, nounnational park, nounnoise pollution, nounozone, nounozone-friendly, adjectiveparticulates, nounpoison, verbpollute, verbradioactive waste, nounradioactivity, nounrecyclable, adjectiverecycle, verbrecycling, nounreforestation, nounsewage, nounsewage works, nounsmog, nounsulphur dioxide, nountip, nountoxic waste, nounwaste disposal, nounwaste product, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The island has been seriously polluted by a copper mine.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to make air, water, soil etc dangerously dirty and not suitable for people to use: The island has been seriously polluted by a copper mine.· The air in Mexico City is heavily polluted.
· Nuclear waste will pollute the environment for centuries.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· The river is already heavily polluted by chemical and metallurgical industries.· There was little information on the health of people living in that area, which had been known to be heavily polluted.
· One, the copper flower, grows in dense violet clumps on the most polluted soils of all.· Point Judith Pond, the eastern most of the tidal ponds, has been the most polluted by oil.
NOUN· Cigarette smokers pollute the air for other people but take no account of this in deciding how much to smoke.· Residents of the two cities breathe the same polluted air.· Short-term measurements were carried out in the drivers' breathing zones by drawing polluted air through a charcoal tube during unloading.· Paints traditionally were made with volatile organic compounds, which can pollute indoor and outdoor air.
· Likewise the pesticides and weedkillers used in large-scale crop-farming kill plants and wildlife and pollute the atmosphere.· The dreams of nineteenth-century poets polluted the psychic atmosphere of the great boroughs and suburbs of New York.
· Aluminium smelters are only one of a score of industries which now pollute the total environment with fluoride emissions and solid wastes.· Who owns the company that is accused of polluting the environment?· Catalysts convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide, which is less toxic, but equally polluting to the environment.· Chlorine bleaching of pulp for paper releases dioxins into rivers and soil, further polluting the environment.· We have, in fact, as well as polluting our environment chemically also polluted it with radio waves of varying frequencies.· He used to say it polluted the environment.· Its only scourge - heavy lorries - rumbling through its streets, polluting the environment and damaging historic buildings.· Urban ecologists started concerning themselves with children growing up in polluted environments.
· Likewise the pesticides and weedkillers used in large-scale crop-farming kill plants and wildlife and pollute the atmosphere.
· It says that the company razed forests, polluted rivers, retarded crop growth and caused birth defects.· Businesses that polluted the river were fined.· Transnational oil and mining companies pollute rivers and finance grossly disruptive mines.· The River Doe Lea is much more polluted than all other rivers in the area.· Water rising through abandoned mines could pollute rivers, kill wildlife and contaminate drinking water.
· Do not pollute fresh water supplies.· The mine was shut down last August after a spill of polluted water from a waste pond flowed into a nearby river.· This is generally caused by a decomposing body or bodies polluting the water and is usually accompanied by an unpleasant smell.· Lawrence River, where she takes samples from polluted water and instructs local residents in environmental sciences.· As well as not functioning in a submersed situation, dying cells, releasing adverse substances will pollute the water.· Nitrogen can take up to 20 years to pollute water and, therefore, is a very long term problem.· The dumps were generating explosive gases and leaching noxious chemicals that polluted underground water sources.· This wastes food and pollutes the water.
beaches polluted by raw sewage The factory pollutes the air and water.heavily/severely/badly etc polluted The island has been seriously polluted by a copper mine.pollute something with something The rivers had been polluted with aluminium.2to spoil or ruin something that used to be good: an artist spiritually polluted by money and fame3pollute somebody’s mind to give someone immoral thoughts and spoil their character: Violence on television is polluting the minds of our children.