dust off
Idioms-
Restore to use. For example, I've dusted off last year's menu for the party . This usage alludes to cleaning and thereby renewing some object. [Mid-1900s]
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Pitch a baseball dangerously close to the batter's head, as in I'm sure he dusted him off on purpose . [ Slang ; 1920s]
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Finish off, kill; also, easily defeat. For example, They vowed to dust off the old man , or We'll dust off this team in no time . [ Slang ; c. 1940]
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Thrash, beat up, as in If he didn't hand over his wallet, they threatened to dust him off . [ Slang ; 1920s]
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.
But he also tries to knock the dust off a nearly 3,000-year-old saga.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
We are still early in the Warsh chairmanship, but investors will need to dust off their macro muscles.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
“And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them,” Jesus said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
First I had to dust off and reclaim the title of Artist I had buried underneath frustration and resentment and lay it loudly alongside that of Mother.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
I get up and dust off my butt.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
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.
