English Explanatory Dictionary

dust

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Fine particles.
  2. 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.
  3. Any substance reduced to fine particles; powder.
  4. Submicron particles in outer space, largely silicates and carbon compounds, that contribute greatly to extinction at visible wavelengths.
  5. Disintegration of a solid, like silica.
  6. Flour.
  7. A single fine, dry particle of earth or other material; grain of dust.
  8. The act of cleaning by dusting.
  9. The act of sprinkling dust, or a sprinkle of dust itself.
  10. Earth, ground, soil, sediment.
  11. The earth as the resting place of the dead.
  12. The earthly remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
verb
  1. To remove dust from.
  2. To remove dust; to clean by removing dust.
  3. To make dusty, to soil with dust.
  4. Of a bird, to cover itself in sand or dry, dusty earth.
  5. To spray or cover (something) with fine powder or liquid, to sprinkle.
  6. To sprinkle (a substance) in the form of dust.
  7. To leave quickly; to rush off.
  8. To drink up quickly; to toss off.
  9. To reduce to a fine powder; to pulverize, to levigate.
  10. To strike, beat, thrash.
  11. To defeat badly, to thrash.
  12. To kill.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/dʌst/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Exilexi-dust.wav en-us-dust.ogg /dʊst/

Word forms

dust dusts dusting dusted

Etymology

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.

Related words

crop-dust vacuum cleaner

Derived words

angel dust antidust Asian dust bark dust beat the dust bedust bite the dust brake dust bread dust brickdust bull dust bulldust bust the dust Cantor dust catch dust chalkdust coal dust coaldust collect dust come down with one's dust come down with the dust copple dust cosmic dust cupel-dust dedust devil's dust dhobi dust diamond dust down with one's dust down with the dust dry as dust dustable dust bag dustbag dustball dustbath dust bath dustbathe dustbin dust bin dustboard Dust Bowl dustbowl dust box dustbox dust-brand dustbrush dustbug dust buster dust cap dust cart dustcart dustcloth dust cloth dustcloud dustcoat dust-collector dust-colored dust-coloured dust contractor

Translations

Acehnese: abee Afrikaans: stof Akkadian: 𒅖 Albanian: pluhur Northern Altai: тоос Southern Altai: кок Southern Altai: тозун Southern Altai: тозон Southern Altai: тобрак Amharic: አቧራ Arabic: غُبَار Arabic: تراب Arabic: غُبار Arabic: تُراب Arabic: غبار Armenian: փոշի Aromanian: pulbiri Aromanian: pulbire Assamese: ধূলি Asturian: polvu Azerbaijani: توز Azerbaijani: toz Baluchi: ہاک Bashkir: саң Bashkir: туҙан Basque: hauts Karo Batak: abu Belarusian: пыл Belarusian: по́рах Bengali: ধূলি Bhojpuri: धूल Central Bikol: alpog Eastern Bontoc: tapok Breton: poultr Breton: poultrenn Budukh: руг Bulgarian: прах Burmese: ဖုန် Buryat: тооһон Catalan: pols Cebuano: abog Chamicuro: ijpe Chechen: чан Chichewa: fumbi Chinese Cantonese: 灰塵 /灰尘 Chinese Cantonese: 塵 /尘 Chinese: чынтў Chinese: хуэйтў Chinese: тонтў Chinese: тў Chinese Mandarin: 灰 Chinese Mandarin: 灰塵 /灰尘 Chinese Mandarin: 塵土 /尘土 Chuvash: тусан East Circassian: сабэ Cornish: doust Cornish: polter Cornish: ponn Corsican: polvara Crimean Tatar: toz
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