dusty

[ duhs-tee ]
See synonyms for dusty on Thesaurus.com
adjective,dust·i·er, dust·i·est.
  1. filled, covered, or clouded with or as with dust.

  2. of the nature of dust; powdery.

  1. of the color of dust; having a grayish cast.

Origin of dusty

1
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at dust, -y1

Other words from dusty

  • dust·i·ly, adverb
  • dust·i·ness, noun
  • un·dust·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dusty in a sentence

  • It was the poorest, dingiest, dustiest little escutcheon that ever bore so pretentious a device.

  • In a Chinese village during a time of drought a missionary saw a row of idols put in the hottest and dustiest part of the road.

  • It faces the dustiest of tramway lines now, but one is thankful for any writing on any wall that gives a clue to the past.

    Diplomatic Days | Edith O'Shaughnessy
  • Lloyd George drew the dullest and dustiest of all portfolios—the Board of Trade.

    The War After the War | Isaac Frederick Marcosson
  • "Harry, we had the dustiest trip I ever seen in my life," he added, as with his companions he left the table.

    Laramie Holds the Range | Frank H. Spearman

British Dictionary definitions for dusty

dusty

/ (ˈdʌstɪ) /


adjectivedustier or dustiest
  1. covered with or involving dust

  2. like dust in appearance or colour

  1. (of a colour) tinged with grey; pale: dusty pink

  2. a dusty answer an unhelpful or bad-tempered reply

  3. not so dusty informal not too bad; fairly well: often in response to the greeting how are you?

Derived forms of dusty

  • dustily, adverb
  • dustiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012