pollutant
noun/pəˈl(j)uːtənt/
Etymology From pollute + -ant.
1
A foreign substance that makes something dirty, or impure, especially waste from human activities.
- Acid rain forms when water in the atmosphere condenses on particles containing acid-forming pollutants, such as sulfate produced by the burning of fossil fuels and nitrogen oxides from automobile exhausts.1987 January 20, “Airborne Pollutants”, in The New York Times, →ISSN: