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.
Others used the shutdown to dust off esoteric research projects.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
Never fear, Strictly Come Dancing is back with its 23rd series, with 15 new contestants ready to dust off their dancing shoes.
From BBC • Sep. 15, 2025
You can also use a pastry brush or a clean, unused paintbrush to dust off the surfaces.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2025
So when Penn migrated south three years ago and began laying the foundation for another expansion club, this time in San Diego, it was assumed he’d simply dust off the same blueprints.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2024
“They should all be seized on the spot! When did you last come up here? I could scrape the dust off their pages with a trowel.”
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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.
