Meanings
- idiomaticuncountablebusinessMoney that is illegally gained, illegally transferred or illegally utilized, especially money gained through forgery, bribery, prostitution, money laundering, or theft.
Corruption is a force multiplier for the West's enemies, and yet the West continues to accept dirty money into its economies by the billion.
2018, Oliver Bullough, chapter 1, in Moneyland, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 151 more example
Taken together, the articles exposed a dark truth: “Dirty money” — terrorist financing, drug cartel funds, fortunes embezzled from developing nations, the profits from organized crime — flows so freely through the world’s most powerful financial institutions that it has become inextricable from the so-called legitimate economy.
2021 June 10, Mark Schoofs, “She Exposed the Truth About ‘Dirty Money’: It’s Everywhere”, in The New York TimesSynonyms: ill-gotten gains · Antonyms: clean money
- informaluncountableExtra money paid to workers as compensation for dirty or dangerous work.
The days should be long gone when workers are paid dirty money to do a risky job […]
1997, Janus, page 241 more example
[…] much of the set was smeared with oil and grease. This did, however, lead to a very unpleasant working environment. 'Everyone working on the film was paid “dirty” money,' recalls Maurice. 'I got seven and six a week “dirty money”, which was wonderful for a fifteen-year-old.'
2015, Robert Sellers, The Secret Life of Ealing Studios
Synonyms & antonyms
nounMoney that is illegally gained, illegally transferred or illegally utilized, especially money gained through forgery, bribery, prostitution, money laundering, or theft.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Afrikaans swart geld
- swart geldmoney illegally gained
Bulgarian мръ́сни пари́
- мръ́сни пари́ (mrắsni parí)money illegally gained
Catalan diner negre
- diner negremoney illegally gained
Chinese Mandarin 黑錢 /黑钱
- 黑錢 /黑钱 (hēiqián)money illegally gained
Czech špinavé peníze
- špinavé penízemoney illegally gained
Danish sorte penge
- sorte pengemoney illegally gained
Dutch zwart geld
- zwart geldmoney illegally gained
Finnish likainen raha
- likainen rahamoney illegally gained
French argent sale
- argent salemoney illegally gained
German Schwarzgeld, schmutziges Geld
- Schwarzgeldmoney illegally gained
- schmutziges Geldmoney illegally gained
Japanese 悪銭, 汚れたお金
- 悪銭 (akusen)money illegally gained
- 汚れたお金 (kegareta okane)money illegally gained
- 悪金 (warugane)money illegally gained
Korean 부정한 돈, 더러운 돈
- 부정한 돈 (bujeonghan don)money illegally gained
- 더러운 돈 (deoreoun don)money illegally gained
- 악전 (akjeon)money illegally gained
Polish brudne pieniądze
- brudne pieniądzemoney illegally gained
Portuguese dinheiro preto, dinheiro sujo
- dinheiro pretomoney illegally gained
- dinheiro sujomoney illegally gained
Romanian bani murdari, bani negri
- bani murdarimoney illegally gained
- bani negrimoney illegally gained
Russian гря́зные де́ньги
- гря́зные де́ньги (grjáznyje dénʹgi)money illegally gained
Slovak špinavé peniaze
- špinavé peniazemoney illegally gained
Spanish dinero negro, dinero B
- dinero negromoney illegally gained
- dinero Bmoney illegally gained
- dinero en Bmoney illegally gained
- dinero suciomoney illegally gained
Turkish kara para, anafor
- kara paramoney illegally gained
- anaformoney illegally gained
Ukrainian брудні́ гро́ші
- брудні́ гро́ші (brudní hróši)money illegally gained
Cite this entry
dirty money. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirty%20money
“dirty money.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirty%20money. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dirty money,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirty%20money.
Source: dirty money on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.