Etymology
Origin of powdery
First recorded in 1400–50, powdery is from the late Middle English word powdry. See powder 1, -y 1
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.
Young people around the world are snatching Adidas Tang-style jackets off the shelves, bingeing on Chinese micro-dramas and experimenting with powdery make-up looks flaunted by Chinese girls and women on Douyin, China's version of TikTok.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
Autochromes possess the light-dappled depth of Impressionist paintings, the powdery precision of pointillism, the honest blushes of butterfly cheeks, and the palpable textures of gleaming silks and gilded velvets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
“The worst part on the way back were the switchbacks. Almost all the trail was covered with powdery snow brought up with the wind, it was very hard to go with just microspikes.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2025
When tested on wheat, these compounds helped protect against fungal infections such as powdery mildew.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2025
I pulled out a stick, took off the white paper and the shiny silver foil under it, and studied the powdery, putty-colored gum.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
