adj
polluting
Polluting (adj) means causing pollution; tending to contaminate the environment. Example: “Coal is one of the most polluting sources of electricity.”
adj
1
Causing pollution; tending to contaminate the environment.
"But because rare earths are polluting to mine and process, it can take nearly three decades to get permission to open and operate a rare-earth mine in America, so finding substitutes won’t be easy."
— Nicholas Kristof, What Trump Isn’t Telling You About His Trade War With China (2025)
"Coal is one of the most polluting sources of electricity."
"De-icing a plane is expensive, polluting, and time-consuming, so when sudden weather changes mean it has to be done twice, that has an impact on the bottom line, the environment and on-time departures."
— Julie Weed, AI Is Helping Airlines Prevent Delays and Turbulence (2023)
How to use polluting
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDescribes something that dirties or contaminates the environment.
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Word forms
- Comparative
- more polluting
- Superlative
- most polluting
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Coal is one of the most _____ sources of electricity.
Rhymes for polluting
outing
routing
pouting
spouting
scouting
shouting
saluting
computing
sprouting
disputing
commuting
rerouting
See all rhymes for polluting →
Frequently asked questions
What does “polluting” mean?
The word “polluting” means causing pollution; tending to contaminate the environment. In plain terms, describes something that dirties or contaminates the environment.
How do you use “polluting” in a sentence?
Here is “polluting” used in a sentence: “Coal is one of the most polluting sources of electricity.”
What part of speech is “polluting”?
“Polluting” is an adjective.
What is the meaning of polluting?
"polluting" (adj) means causing pollution; tending to contaminate the environment.
