dross
Americannoun
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waste matter; refuse.
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Metallurgy. a waste product taken off molten metal during smelting, essentially metallic in character.
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British. coal of little value.
noun
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the scum formed, usually by oxidation, on the surfaces of molten metals
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worthless matter; waste
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dross
before 1050; Middle English dros ( se ), Old English drōs; cognate with Middle Dutch droes dregs; compare Middle English drōsen, Old English drōsna; cognate with Middle High German truosen husks
Explanation
Things that are a total loss — really worthless or damaging — are dross. That gunk between your teeth that comes out when you floss? You could call that dross. No one wants it, and it's harmful if it stays. While dross is a noun for stuff that's physically left over or useless, like the nonmetallic stuff left when metal gets refined, it's also used for people and forms of art. A really bad movie can be called dross, and a low or despicable person can be dross. Debris, or trash, is another form of dross. "Searching the backyard for unexploded fireworks — the dross of Chinese New Year celebrations — was a tradition for the kids and a safeguard for the dogs."
Vocabulary lists containing dross
The Merchant of Venice
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Circe
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Spoon River Anthology
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
West Indies moved ahead, Root was asked to bowl some off-spin dross into the pads of Da Silva, who swept three fours and hit a six over long-on.
From BBC • Jul. 20, 2024
But to appreciate the treasure it becomes, you have to understand the dross from which it came.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2023
He will target the dross that inevitably accumulates in any large firm — the business practices that don’t make sense, the operations that don’t make money, and the workers who don’t make a good fit.
From Washington Post • Oct. 23, 2022
"They have chosen to be guided by a Christianity hammered free of the dross of the modern world," Gonzalez wrote.
From Salon • May 13, 2022
I fancied that a malevolent Rumpelstiltskin crept into my room at night and undid my best work, turning the gold of my efforts into pathetic dross on a wheel perversely spinning backward.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
