Meanings
nounDirty Harry (plural Dirty Harrys)
plural Dirty Harrys
- figurativelyA police officer who is reckless, disregards practices and policies, or who practices vigilantism or uses excessive force.
Synonyms: vigilante, loose cannon
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA police officer who is reckless, disregards practices and policies, or who practices vigilantism or uses excessive force.
Similar
Origin
After Dirty Harry, a fictional police detective who (in the film) tells his partner that he is called Dirty Harry because he gets all the dirty jobs.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Dirty Harry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dirty%20Harry
MLA
“Dirty Harry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dirty%20Harry. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Dirty Harry,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dirty%20Harry.
Source: Dirty Harry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.