harmful substances, noise, or other forms of waste that make air, water, or land dirty or unhealthy
The thick smog over the city showed how bad the pollution had become.
Farmers tested the soil for pollution before planting their crops.
✦ from Latin polluere ‘to soil, defile’, through Old French pollution and Middle English pollution
the act or process of making air, water, or land dirty or unhealthy
The pollution of the river began when the factory started dumping waste.
Strict laws aim to reduce the pollution of the atmosphere.
