dust
Americannoun
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dust
plural
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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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dusts,
present (3rd person singular)
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dusted,
past participle, past
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dusting
present participle
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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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dusts,
present (3rd person singular)
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dusted,
past participle, past
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dusting
present participle
-
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.
See Examples For:
She told The Wall Street Journal that she fixed credit card-sized location trackers inside the back covers behind the dust jacket flaps of books in two separate shipments in late June and early July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Pringles, Burger King all went with ultra-minimal redesigns, as if anyone would see Pringles as a forward-thinking tech company and not the perfect contraption to get sour cream–and–onion dust all over your hands.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Hill, who was on BP19 with 30 Commando, expressed concern over the dust in a disused building at Skrunda-1 they were being asked to sleep in.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The darker streaks contain surface dust and rocks that have been altered over long periods by solar wind, galactic cosmic rays, and impacts from micrometeorites.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
“And where would this fairy dust have taken you?”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
As Fennell trots along Brontë’s tentpoles, she dusts the narrative between these plot points with sensational set pieces and eye-popping costumes.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2026
Under the blazing Mexican sun, Maria Couoh dusts off the skull of her late uncle Tomas.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025
A stray cat she encounters on the road reminds her of herself, both of them having "weathered the wind and rain for years but still managing to love this world that dusts our faces".
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2025
On a whim, she cuts off her hair, puts her thick-rimmed glasses back on, and dusts off her old wardrobe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024
Benny dusts himself off, and asks, “You gonna play with us? You can be on my team.”
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
The only tournaments where he can significantly alter and improve his already stellar career are done and dusted three months from now.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Two years ago, EGA dusted off its American expansion plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
Accordingly, the advocates of inflation-indexing of capital gains have dusted off a workaround that first surfaced in 1992, during the George H. W. Bush administration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
"I've already dusted off the shelf for it," he told AFP in January, referring to the golden statuette that he ended up taking.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
With one hand she lifted Izzy’s jacket from the chair and dusted it, as if it were soiled.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
A light dusting of snow fell on the area on Monday, signalling the upcoming start of the ski season.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
Platner is dusting Mills by lopsided margins in polling averages.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
America’s banks are dusting off their spending wish lists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Then warmth: a drop of vanilla, a whisper of cinnamon, a dusting of cardamom or ginger.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026
Naomi checked the clock in the kitchen and then went back to dusting.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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.
