- present participle of dust.
dusting
Americannoun
-
dustings
plural
-
a light application.
a dusting of powder.
-
a beating; defeat.
He gave his opponent a good dusting.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dusting
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:
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
The only distinguishing features were a few hurried strips of grilled chicken and a light dusting of Tony Chachere’s — not stirred into the sauce, mind you, but sprinkled on top, like an afterthought.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026
China’s central bank has started taking steps to check the yuan’s recent advance, dusting off an old playbook that would reduce the cost of betting against the currency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
“I’m okay,” she said, dusting off sand from her hair.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
The Met Office says that snowy showers "could turn quite heavy", with some areas seeing light dustings of snow as temperatures plunge.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2024
Martian frost has been observed since NASA’s 1970s Viking missions, but these light dustings of morning frost were thought to occur in certain locations under specific conditions.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
MERIBEL, France — Besides some minor dustings, it hasn’t snowed significantly in the French resorts hosting the skiing world championships since mid-January.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 10, 2023
This doesn’t include dustings or ice events; we are likely to have some of those, too.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 10, 2021
Examples of the destruction of fish by agricultural crop sprayings and dustings are everywhere to be found.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
