dust
Americannoun
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earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
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a cloud of finely powdered earth or other matter in the air.
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any finely powdered substance, as sawdust.
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the ground; the earth's surface.
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the substance to which something, as the dead human body, is ultimately reduced by disintegration or decay; earthly remains.
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British.
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ashes, refuse, etc.
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junk.
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a low or humble condition.
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anything worthless.
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disturbance; turmoil.
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the mortal body of a human being.
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a single particle or grain.
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Archaic. money; cash.
verb (used with object)
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to wipe the dust from.
to dust a table.
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to sprinkle with a powder or dust.
to dust rosebushes with an insecticide.
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to strew or sprinkle (a powder, dust, or other fine particles).
to dust insecticide on a rosebush.
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to soil with dust; make dusty.
verb (used without object)
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to wipe dust from furniture, woodwork, etc.
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to become dusty.
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to apply dust or powder to a plant, one's body, etc..
to dust with an insecticide in late spring.
idioms
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shake the dust from one's feet, to depart in anger or disdain; leave decisively or in haste, especially from an unpleasant situation.
As the country moved toward totalitarianism, many of the intelligentsia shook the dust from their feet.
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lick the dust,
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to be killed; die.
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to humble oneself abjectly; grovel.
He will resign rather than lick the dust.
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throw dust in someone's eyes, to mislead; deceive.
He threw dust in our eyes by pretending to be a jeweler and then disappeared with the diamonds.
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make the dust fly, to execute with vigor or speed.
We turned them loose on the work, and they made the dust fly.
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leave one in the dust, to overtake and surpass a competitor or one who is less ambitious, qualified, etc..
Don't be so meek, they'll leave you in the dust.
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bite the dust,
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to be killed, especially in battle; die.
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to suffer defeat; be unsuccessful; fail.
Another manufacturer has bitten the dust.
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dust off,
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Baseball. (of a pitcher) to throw the ball purposely at or dangerously close to (the batter).
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to take out or prepare for use again, as after a period of inactivity or storage.
I'm going to dust off my accounting skills and try to get a job in the finance department.
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to beat up badly.
The gang of hoodlums dusted off a cop.
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noun
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dry fine powdery material, such as particles of dirt, earth or pollen
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a cloud of such fine particles
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the powdery particles to which something is thought to be reduced by death, decay, or disintegration
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the mortal body of man
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the corpse of a dead person
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the earth; ground
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informal a disturbance; fuss (esp in the phrases kick up a dust, raise a dust )
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something of little or no worth
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informal (in mining parlance) silicosis or any similar respiratory disease
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short for gold dust
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ashes or household refuse
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to fail completely or cease to exist
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to fall down dead
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something that is very disappointing
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to outdo someone or something comprehensively or with ease
leaving their competitors in the dust
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to depart angrily or contemptuously
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to confuse or mislead
verb
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(tr) to sprinkle or cover (something) with (dust or some other powdery substance)
to dust a cake with sugar
to dust sugar onto a cake
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to remove dust by wiping, sweeping, or brushing
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archaic to make or become dirty with dust
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dustsimple
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dustssimple
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have dustedperfect
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has dustedperfect
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am dustingprogressive
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are dustingprogressive
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is dustingprogressive
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have been dustingperfect progressive
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has been dustingperfect progressive
Past
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dustedsimple
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had dustedperfect
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was dustingprogressive
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were dustingprogressive
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had been dustingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dust
before 900; Middle English; Old English dūst; cognate with German Dunst vapor
Explanation
Dust is the fine, powdery substance that settles on surfaces over time or is blown around outdoors. A junk shop might be full of beautiful old furniture and books, all covered with dust. There's the dust you clean with a feather duster, and then there's the verb "to dust." You can dust your bookshelves, cleaning the dust from them, but you can also dust the surface of a cake with powdered sugar, covering it lightly. Informally, when something "gathers dust," it goes unused, and when "the dust settles," a situation calms down.
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.
Detainees alleged they routinely wiped black mold off shower walls at the facility, saw black dust spew from air vents and used cleaning solutions that lacked instructions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
Bumblebees have much hairier bodies than honeybees, making it easier for dust and airborne particles containing heavy metals to cling to them before being carried back to the nest with pollen.
From Science Daily • Jul. 7, 2026
Standing up as debris fell around him, he waited for the dust and insulation to settle.
From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026
"I couldn't believe the effect it had on the concrete. It just disintegrates. You can crumble it in your fingers - it almost turns to dust."
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
When the family started out, the air was already warm and dust hung over the busy streets.
From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr
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.
