How to Use pollute in a Sentence

pollute

verb
  • Car exhaust pollutes the air.
  • Miles of beaches were polluted by the oil spill.
  • The billowing haze and ash will cloud and pollute the state for weeks if not months.
    Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, 15 Sep. 2020
  • The world needs a plan to adapt The risks of aged, polluting cars sent abroad will not be borne by the Global South alone.
    David Zipper, Vox, 3 Sep. 2024
  • The emissions rain down as an oily residue, polluting homes and farms.
    Adriana Loureiro Fernandez, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2023
  • Car engines have advanced over the years to pollute less.
    CBS News, 10 Dec. 2021
  • This could mean airlines will get a free pass to pollute until 2024.
    Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 4 June 2021
  • But this is the first time Samara is being polluted with it on her walk home.
    Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 18 Sep. 2024
  • Deep-fryer oil should not be poured on the ground or down a storm drain, which could pollute waterways and clog the storm pipe.
    Emma Austin, The Courier-Journal, 26 Nov. 2020
  • There is a new push for electric school buses, which would pollute less.
    JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
  • The crew complied—but Matveev told the officials that his ship had an oil leak and might pollute their waters.
    Tristram Korten, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Aug. 2020
  • Nicholas warned this disparity would see those that pollute the least suffer the most.
    NBC News, 9 Aug. 2021
  • Still, perhaps the best way to tackle the issue isn’t policing the sale but polluting the appeal.
    Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Indigenous groups want to know if that means the river can now sue people who pollute it.
    Julia Hollingsworth, CNN, 11 Dec. 2020
  • Wildfires are back, and with them is the risk of smoke clouding the metro Detroit sky, polluting the air quality.
    Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 31 May 2024
  • But because the Great Salt Lake is drying up, toxins threaten to pollute the city’s air.
    Michael Kolomatsky, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2023
  • But not all automakers are on board with a plan to pollute the planet for as long as possible.
    Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 9 June 2022
  • The decade-old program, which allows large emitters to buy allowances from the state to pollute and trade them with other companies, is one of the largest in the world.
    Sophie Austin, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2023
  • Margo’s beloved grandfather and run by her uncle polluting both the water and the air.
    Jane Smiley, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2024
  • In reality, the cars polluted as much as long-haul trucks.
    Jack Ewing, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024
  • Over time, fewer allowances are made available with the goal of spurring companies to pollute less.
    Kathleen Ronayne, ajc, 24 Feb. 2022
  • The chemical also polluted the food web and destroyed the eggs of Bald Eagles.
    The Editors, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
  • Sewage pollutes fish streams The sound of water is everywhere in the small towns of McDowell County, founded in 1858.
    Sara Sidner, CNN, 25 Mar. 2023
  • The tags themselves also become bits of trash the second the pop off, with the potential to pollute pristine ecosystems.
    Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 June 2020
  • And the sewage and trash from unsanctioned RV encampments pollute the watersheds of the Willamette and Columbia rivers.
    Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2022
  • Trump’s record is one of rolling back these measures and inviting major industries to pollute more.
    Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 13 Aug. 2024
  • That is raising concerns that the assets will continue to pollute, perhaps even at a greater rate, but away from the public eye.
    New York Times, 10 May 2022
  • So that the ride will finally stop polluting the environment at the same time, is even more special.
    Germain Lussier / Gizmodo, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
  • One of them, Galena Park, is near the Ship Channel, an area east of downtown known for its close proximity to polluting petrochemical plants and flood risks.
    Mark Dent, thehustle.co, 18 Oct. 2024
  • Well Water Sewage smells may also come directly from the well water if the system has become contaminated or polluted with bacteria or decaying organic matter.
    Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pollute.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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