Dust Definition

dŭst
dusted, dusting, dusts
noun
dusts
Powdery earth or other matter in bits fine enough to be easily suspended in air.
Webster's New World
A cloud of such matter.
Webster's New World
Particles of matter regarded as the result of disintegration.
Fabric that had fallen to dust over the centuries.
American Heritage
Earth, esp. as the place of burial.
Webster's New World
The surface of the ground.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
verb
dusted, dusting, dusts
To remove dust, esp. from furniture, floors, etc.
Webster's New World
To sprinkle with dust or a fine powdery substance.
To dust crops with an insecticide.
Webster's New World
To rid of dust, as by brushing, shaking, or wiping.
Webster's New World
To sprinkle (powder, etc.) on something.
Webster's New World
To apply or strew in fine particles.
Dusted talcum powder on my feet.
American Heritage
idiom
in the dust
  • Far behind, as in a race or competition:

    a marketing strategy that left our competitors in the dust.

American Heritage
make the dust fly
  • To go about a task with great energy and speed.
American Heritage
bite the dust
  • to die, esp. in battle
  • to stop existing or functioning; fail, break, etc.
Webster's New World
dust off
  • to prepare to use
Webster's New World
leave in the dust
  • to surpass or outstrip readily
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Dust

Noun

Singular:
dust
Plural:
dusts

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Dust

Origin of Dust

  • From Middle English dust, doust, from Old English dust, dūst (“dust, dried earth reduced to powder; other dry material reduced to powder”), from the fusion of Proto-Germanic *dustą (“dust”) and Proto-Germanic *dunstą (“mist, dust, evaporation”), both from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewes-, *dʰews-, *dʰwAn-, *dʰūw- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Cognate with Scots dust, dist (“dust”), Dutch duist (“pollen, dust”) and dons (“down, fuzz”), German Dust (“dust”) and Dunst (“haze”), Swedish dust (“dust”), Icelandic dust (“dust”), Latin fūmus (“smoke, steam”). Also related to Swedish dun (“down, fluff”), Icelandic dúnn (“down, fluff”). See down.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English dūst

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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