do someone dirty

verb

To deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner.

Meanings

verbdo someone dirty (third-person singular simple present does someone dirty, present participle doing someone dirty, simple past did someone dirty, past participle done someone dirty)

present singular third person does someone dirty · participle present doing someone dirty · past did someone dirty · participle past done someone dirty · alternative do someone dirt

  1. informalTo deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner.

    She was cheating on him—doing him dirty.

    2005 February 2, Rashaun Hall, “Mario Shoots Heartbreaking New Video”, in mtv.com, retrieved 28 Jul 2010
    3 more examples

    Johnse lived with her, but didn't marry her. Later he married her cousin. "He did her dirty," says Willis Hatfield of his brother's affair with Roseann.

    1966, George Hanna, "Death of 'Devil Anse' Hatfield Was 45 Years Ago," Tri-City Herald (Washington State, USA), 5 Jan., p. 36 (retrieved 28 July 2010)

    Mira, who thought the Colts did him dirty by not activating him as they promised, did not call back.

    1971 April 10, Al Levine, “Dolphins sign Mira and (surprise) Del Gaizo”, in Miami News, retrieved 28 Jul 2010, page 1B

    The writers did Samara dirty in this game. First, they retconned her comments on how many Ardat Yakshi there are in the universe (Ardat Yakshi are diseased Asari who are basically vampires who need to be sheltered away from others). Then, they made Samara break her Justicar code — something she’s followed literally for centuries — by attempting to kill herself so that her daughter Falere can live.

    2021 June 4, Jhaan Elker, “Every ‘Mass Effect’ squadmate, ranked from a storytelling perspective”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Jun 2021, Launcher News

    Synonyms: do the dirty on, double-cross, stab in the back, assfuck, betray, burn, cop out, cross out

Synonyms & antonyms

Translations

Spanish hacer una jugarreta, jugársela
  • hacer una jugarretato deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
  • jugárselato deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
  • jugárselasto deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
  • malearto deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
  • malearse dejar feoto deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
  • dejar frescoto deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
Vietnamese phản bội, phản phúc
  • phản bộito deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
  • phản phúcto deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
  • phản trắcto deliberately treat someone in an unfair or harmful manner
Cite this entry
APA

do someone dirty. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20someone%20dirty

MLA

“do someone dirty.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20someone%20dirty. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “do someone dirty,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20someone%20dirty.

Source: do someone dirty on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.