Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Dust

//dʌst// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A surname.

Noun

1
Fine particles.; Fine, dry particles of matter found in the air and covering the surface of objects, typically consisting of soil lifted up by the wind, pollen, hair, etc. uncountable
"There is so much dust released during the process of laying ballast that the trackside operator wears a full face mask with respirator."
2
fine powdery material such as dry earth or pollen that can be blown about in the air wordnet
3
Fine particles.; Any substance reduced to fine particles; powder. uncountable
4
free microscopic particles of solid material wordnet
5
Fine particles.; Submicron particles in outer space, largely silicates and carbon compounds, that contribute greatly to extinction at visible wavelengths. uncountable
"Astronomers have previously considered that dust produced by the star was obscuring it, causing the steep decline in brightness."

Show 19 more definitions

6
the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up wordnet
7
Fine particles.; Disintegration of a solid, like silica. uncountable
8
Fine particles.; Flour. Australia, dated, slang, uncountable
9
Fine particles.; A single fine, dry particle of earth or other material; grain of dust. countable, obsolete
"to touch a dust of England’s ground"
10
The act of cleaning by dusting. countable
"[…]once they start school, I mean you can do a room out one day, the next day it only needs a dust, doesn’t it?"
11
The act of sprinkling dust, or a sprinkle of dust itself. countable
12
Earth, ground, soil, sediment. countable, poetic, uncountable
"But I should turn mine ears and hear The moanings of the homeless sea, ⁠The sound of streams that swift or slow ⁠Draw down Æonian hills, and sow The dust of continents to be; […]"
13
The earth as the resting place of the dead. countable, uncountable
"For now shall I sleep in the dust."
14
The earthly remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body. countable, uncountable
"For I will leave my relics in your land, / And you may carve a shrine about my dust, / And burn a fragrant lamp before my bones, / When I am gather’d to the glorious saints."
15
The substance of the human body or mortal frame. countable, figuratively, uncountable
16
Something worthless. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust."
17
A low or mean condition. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"[God] raiseth up the poor out of the dust."
18
Rubbish, garbage, refuse. British, colloquial, countable, uncountable
19
cash; money (in reference to gold dust). countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"‘And what do you ask for it?’ ‘Fifteen thousand dollars.’ ‘I’ll take it.’ ‘Then down with the dust.’"
20
A cloud of dust. countable
21
A tumult, disturbance, commotion, uproar. countable, figuratively
"to raise, or kick up, a dust"
22
A fight or row. colloquial, countable
23
A totally disconnected set of points with a fractal structure. countable
24
Tiny amounts of cryptocurrency left over after a transaction due to rounding error. countable, uncountable

Verb

1
To remove dust from. transitive
"The cleaning lady needs a stool to dust the cupboard."
2
remove the dust from wordnet
3
To remove dust; to clean by removing dust. intransitive
"Dusting always makes me cough."
4
rub the dust over a surface so as to blur the outlines of a shape wordnet
5
To make dusty, to soil with dust. archaic, transitive

Show 13 more definitions

6
distribute loosely wordnet
7
Of a bird, to cover itself in sand or dry, dusty earth. intransitive, reflexive
8
cover with a light dusting of a substance wordnet
9
To spray or cover (something) with fine powder or liquid, to sprinkle. transitive
"The mother dusted her baby’s bum with talcum powder."
10
To sprinkle (a substance) in the form of dust. transitive
11
To leave quickly; to rush off. US, intransitive, slang
"He added in a casual tone: ‘The girl can dust. I’d like to talk to you a little, soldier.’"
12
To drink up quickly; to toss off. obsolete, transitive
13
To reduce to a fine powder; to pulverize, to levigate. obsolete, transitive
"good Powder differs from bad […]in having more Peter and less Coal; and lastly, in the well dusting of it"
14
To strike, beat, thrash. colloquial, dialectal, transitive
15
To defeat badly, to thrash. US, slang, transitive
16
To kill. US, slang, transitive
"Kyle Reese: You have to be careful because the [Hunter-Killer robots] use infrared. They’re not too bright. John taught us ways to dust them."
17
To deliberately pitch a ball close to (a batter); to brush back. transitive
18
To attempt to identify the owner of (a cryptocurrency wallet) by sending tiny amounts of cryptocurrency.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English dust, doust, from Old English dūst (“dust, dried earth reduced to powder; other dry material reduced to powder”), from the fusion of Proto-Germanic *dustą (“dust”) and *dunstą (“mist, dust, evaporation”), both from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“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.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

* As an English surname, from the noun dust. * As a north German surname, from the noun Dust with the same meaning as above, from Middle Low German and Old Saxon dust, from Proto-Germanic *dustą.

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: dust