To pollute is to dirty, contaminate or corrupt something or someone.
(verb)When you dump toxic waste into water, this is an example of a time when you pollute the water.
See pollute in Webster's New World College Dictionary
transitive verb polluted, polluting
Origin: ME poluten < L pollutus, pp. of polluere, to pollute < *por-, for per-, intens. + -luere, to soil < IE base *leu-, dirt > Gr lyma, dirt
See pollute in American Heritage Dictionary 4
transitive verb pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes
Origin:
Origin: Middle English polluten
Origin: , from Latin polluere, pollūt-
.Related Forms:
Learn more about pollute