dust

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable) Fine particles.
2. (uncountable) Fine particles.
3. (uncountable) Fine particles.
4. (uncountable) Fine particles.
5. (Australia, dated, slang, uncountable) Fine particles.
6. (countable, obsolete) Fine particles.
7. (countable) The act of cleaning by dusting.
8. (countable) The act of sprinkling dust, or a sprinkle of dust itself.
9. (countable, poetic, uncountable) Earth, ground, soil, sediment.
10. (countable, uncountable) The earth as the resting place of the dead.
11. (countable, uncountable) The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
12. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) The substance of the human body or mortal frame.
13. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Something worthless.
14. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) A low or mean condition.
15. (British, colloquial, countable, uncountable) Rubbish, garbage, refuse.
16. (countable, dated, slang, uncountable) cash; money (in reference to gold dust).
17. (countable) A cloud of dust.
18. (countable, figuratively) A tumult, disturbance, commotion, uproar.
19. (colloquial, countable) A fight or row.
20. (countable) A totally disconnected set of points with a fractal structure.
21. (countable, uncountable) Tiny amounts of cryptocurrency left over after a transaction due to rounding error.

Verb

1. (transitive) To remove dust from.
2. (intransitive) To remove dust; to clean by removing dust.
3. (archaic, transitive) To make dusty, to soil with dust.
4. (intransitive, reflexive) Of a bird, to cover itself in sand or dry, dusty earth.
5. (transitive) To spray or cover (something) with fine powder or liquid, to sprinkle.
6. (transitive) To sprinkle (a substance) in the form of dust.
7. (US, intransitive, slang) To leave quickly; to rush off.
8. (obsolete, transitive) To drink up quickly; to toss off.
9. (obsolete, transitive) To reduce to a fine powder; to pulverize, to levigate.
10. (colloquial, dialectal, transitive) To strike, beat, thrash.
11. (US, slang, transitive) To defeat badly, to thrash.
12. (US, slang, transitive) To kill.
13. (transitive) To deliberately pitch a ball close to (a batter); to brush back.
14. To attempt to identify the owner of (a cryptocurrency wallet) by sending tiny amounts of cryptocurrency.

Synonyms

dirt

powder

ashes

ash

earth

soil

sand

sweep

brush

clean

rubbish

particle

wipe

sweepings

sprinkle

trash

ground

dot

rub

dust off

soot

cinders

wipe off

sawdust

scatter

cloud of dust

pollen

clear away

disperse

detritus

debris

whisk

grime

garbage

🗑️

smoke

bespangle

fine sand

rubble

cloud

☁️

beat

land

junk

litter

tidy up

disorder

discouraged

disappointed

😞

clap

👏

bloom

crumbs

Translations

poussière

Staub

polvo

polvere

stof

pó

σκόνη

pulvis

pols

poeira

spolverare

toz

غبار

Pronounced as (IPA)

/dʌst/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: dust

Inherited from Old English: dūst

Cognate with Scots: dust

Cognate with Dutch: duist

Cognate with German: Dust

Cognate with Swedish: dust

Cognate with Icelandic: dust

Cognate with Latin: fūmus

Cognate with Swedish: dun

Cognate with Icelandic: dúnn

In summary

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.

Sentences

The attic was dark and smelt of old dust .