air pollution — dirty air
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
When the air is made dirty or harmful by things like smoke, chemicals, or dust, often from cars, factories, or burning things.
Say it like a native
Textbook Atmospheric contamination poses a risk to respiratory health.
Native Air pollution's bad for your lungs.
'Atmospheric contamination' is technical; 'air pollution' is the normal term.
Pattern: air pollution (uncountable noun)
In use
- Air pollution in big cities can make it hard to breathe, especially for children and older people.environment
- In my opinion, air pollution is one of the most serious problems in modern cities because it affects people's health and the environment.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ There are a lot of air pollutions in the city.
✓ There's a lot of air pollution in the city.
'Air pollution' is uncountable — no plural, no 'a'.
Common collocations
air pollution— levels of, reduce, cause, high
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'pollution' in general, which can also mean dirty water or land.