dust

[duhst]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dust ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.

a cloud of finely powdered earth or other matter in the air.

any finely powdered substance, as sawdust.

the ground; the earth's surface.

the substance to which something, as the dead human body, is ultimately reduced by disintegration or decay; earthly remains.

British.

ashes, refuse, etc.
junk¹(def 1).

a low or humble condition.

anything worthless.

disturbance; turmoil.

gold dust.

the mortal body of a human being.

a single particle or grain.

Archaic. money; cash.

verb (used with object)

to wipe the dust from: to dust a table.

to sprinkle with a powder or dust: to dust rosebushes with an insecticide.

to strew or sprinkle (a powder, dust, or other fine particles): to dust insecticide on a rosebush.

to soil with dust; make dusty.

verb (used without object)

to wipe dust from furniture, woodwork, etc.

to become dusty.

to apply dust or powder to a plant, one's body, etc.: to dust with an insecticide in late spring.

Idioms

bite the dust,

to be killed, especially in battle; die.
to suffer defeat; be unsuccessful; fail: Another manufacturer has bitten the dust.

dust off,

Baseball.(of a pitcher) to throw the ball purposely at or dangerously close to (the batter).
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.
to beat up badly: The gang of hoodlums dusted off a cop.

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.

lick the dust,

to be killed; die.
to humble oneself abjectly; grovel: He will resign rather than lick the dust.

make the dust fly, to execute with vigor or speed: We turned them loose on the work, and they made the dust fly.

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.

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.

Origin of dust

before 900; Middle English; Old English dūst; cognate with German Dunst vapor

Related formsdust·less, adjectivere·dust, verb (used with object)un·dust·ed, adjectivewell-dust·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dust

grime, dirt, soil, powder, soot, earth, lint, sand, sift, spray, scatter, dredge, refuse, grit, smut, ashes, filth, ground, loess, granules

Examples from the Web for dust

Contemporary Examples of dust

Estee Lauder has not crumbled to dust because the perfect brown face of Joan Smalls represents it.
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem
Danielle Belton
January 2, 2015
Moreover, trucks, dust, and boomtown stress are the effects of any large-scale industrial activity.
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban
Jay Michaelson
December 20, 2014
That is a lot of air pollution, noise, and yet more kicking up of dust.
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban
Jay Michaelson
December 20, 2014
Little ricochets of dust kicked into the face of a tall man in a tan shalwar kameez and prayer cap.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
In visible light this star system is completely shrouded in dust, its details hidden.
The Most Stunning View Ever of Planets Being Born
Matthew R. Francis
November 9, 2014

Historical Examples of dust

Mauburn felt the rock foundations of Manhattan Island to be crumbling to dust.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
I'd worked wid my mouf full of dust, but could not stop to get a drink of water.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
I'd level straightway with the dust, and with it sink our shame.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
The making it difficult is part of the dust the Caucasian throws in his own eyes.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
The object may be as small as a grain of dust or as big as a warship; to the water it is all the same.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King

British Dictionary definitions for dust

dust

noun

dry fine powdery material, such as particles of dirt, earth or pollen

a cloud of such fine particles

the powdery particles to which something is thought to be reduced by death, decay, or disintegration

the mortal body of man
the corpse of a dead person

the earth; ground

informal a disturbance; fuss (esp in the phrases kick up a dust, raise a dust)

something of little or no worth

informal (in mining parlance) silicosis or any similar respiratory disease

short for gold dust

ashes or household refuse

bite the dust

to fail completely or cease to exist
to fall down dead

dust and ashes something that is very disappointing

leave someone or something in the dust to outdo someone or something comprehensively or with easeleaving their competitors in the dust

shake the dust off one's feet to depart angrily or contemptuously

throw dust in the eyes of to confuse or mislead

verb

(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

to remove dust by wiping, sweeping, or brushing

archaic to make or become dirty with dust

Word Origin for dust

Old English dūst; related to Danish dyst flour dust, Middle Dutch dūst dust, meal dust, Old High German tunst storm

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

Word Origin and History for dust

Old English dust, from Proto-Germanic *dunstaz (cf. Old High German tunst "storm, breath," German Dunst "mist, vapor," Danish dyst "milldust," Dutch duist), from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, smoke, vapor" (cf. Sanskrit dhu- "shake," Latin fumus "smoke"). Meaning "that to which living matter decays" was in Old English, hence, figuratively, "mortal life."

c.1200, "to rise as dust;" later "to sprinkle with dust" (1590s) and "to rid of dust" (1560s); from dust (n.). Related: Dusted; dusting. Sense of "to kill" is U.S. slang first recorded 1938 (cf. bite the dust under bite (v.)).

Idioms and Phrases with dust

dust

In addition to the idiom beginning with dust

dust off

also see:

bite the dust
dry as dust
in the dust
make the dust fly
shake the dust from one's feet
throw dust in someone's eyes
watch my dust
when the dust has settled