powder

¹ American  

[pau-der] / ˈpaʊ dər /

noun

1. any solid substance reduced to a state of fine, loose particles by crushing, grinding, disintegration, etc.

2. a preparation in this form, as gunpowder or face powder.

3. Skiing. Also loose, usually fresh snow that is not granular, wet, or packed.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to reduce to powder; pulverize.

2. to sprinkle or cover with powder.

   She powdered the cookies with confectioners' sugar.

3. to apply powder to (the face, skin, etc.) as a cosmetic.

4. to sprinkle or strew as if with powder.

   A light snowfall powdered the landscape.

5. to ornament in this fashion, as with small objects scattered over a surface.

   a dress lightly powdered with sequins.

verb (used without object)

1. to use powder as a cosmetic.

2. to become pulverized.

powder ² American  

[pau-der] / ˈpaʊ dər /

verb (used without object)

1. British Dialect. to rush.

---

noun

1. British Dialect. a sudden, frantic, or impulsive rush.

idioms

1. take a powder, to leave in a hurry; depart without taking leave, as to avoid something unpleasant: Also take a runout powder.

   He took a powder and left his mother to worry about his gambling debts.

powder British  

/ ˈpaʊdə /

noun

1. a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles

2. any of various preparations in this form, such as gunpowder, face powder, or soap powder

3. fresh loose snow, esp when considered as skiing terrain

4. slang to run away or disappear

---

verb

1. to turn into powder; pulverize

2. (tr) to cover or sprinkle with or as if with powder

powder More Idioms  

1. see keep one's powder dry; sitting on a powder keg; take a powder.

---

Other Word Forms

• powderer
  noun
• powdery
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of powder¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun poudre, pouder, from Old French poudre, pouldre, from Latin pulver- (stem of pulvis ) “dust, powder”; akin to pollen; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of powder²

First recorded in 1625–35; origin uncertain

Explanation

Powder is a loose substance made up of extremely tiny, dry, solid grains. Think of the baking powder and cocoa powder you use when you make your famous chocolate layer cake. Powder is usually made by grinding a hard material until it's the consistency of flour, fine sand, or light snow — in fact, freshly fallen, fluffy snow is often called powder. There's a fine line between a grain and a powder, but generally powders have the characteristic of clumping together, while grains are more loose and separate. When you powder something, you apply powder to it. The Latin root, pulverem, means "dust."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

powder

There’s also an attached walk-in pantry, with a powder room, laundry facilities, an office area, a screened porch, and a sizable garage nearby.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

"It took over matcha. That's really something that we Filipinos should be really proud of," she said, referring to the bright green tea powder popularised by Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebrities.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

"Our whey protein powder was £12.50 on the shelf last year. We've put that up to £17.99 and we're still subsidising that from other aspects of the business," says its founder Kieran Fisher.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

I add a little Worcestershire powder for acidity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Either the copper percussion cap might fail to spark, or the black powder in the barrel might fail to ignite because of dampness.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Related Words

• crumb
• dust