Definition of "dust"

dust

/dʌst/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural dusts
1. Fine particles
  1. (uncountable) 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.
    Quotations
    There is so much dust released during the process of laying ballast that the trackside operator wears a full face mask with respirator.
    2022 September 7, “East-West track laying heads westwards”, in RAIL, number 965, page 37, photo caption
  2. (astronomy, uncountable) Submicron particles in outer space, largely silicates and carbon compounds, that contribute greatly to extinction at visible wavelengths.
    Quotations
    Astronomers have previously considered that dust produced by the star was obscuring it, causing the steep decline in brightness.
    2020 June 29, Paun Rincon, “Betelgeuse: Nearby 'supernova' star's dimming explained”, in BBC News
  3. (obsolete) A single particle of earth or other material.
    Quotations
    to touch a dust of England's ground
    1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene iii]
2. (countable) The act of cleaning by dusting.
  Quotations
  […] 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?
  2010, Joan Busfield, Michael Paddon, Thinking About Children: Sociology and Fertility in Post-War England, page 150
3. The earth, as the resting place of the dead.
  Quotations
  For now shall I sleep in the dust.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Job 7:21
4. The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
  Quotations
  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.
  1833 (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “St. Simeon Stylites”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, page 62
5. (figurative) Something worthless.
  Quotations
  And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust.
  c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene i]
6. (figurative) A low or mean condition.
  Quotations
  [God] raiseth up the poor out of the dust.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1 Samuel 2:8
7. (slang, dated) cash; money (in reference to gold dust).
  Quotations
  'And what do you ask for it?' 'Fifteen thousand dollars.' 'I'll take it.' 'Then down with the dust.'
  1852, George Colvocoresses, Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition
8. (colloquial) A disturbance or uproar.
9. (mathematics) A totally disconnected set of points with a fractal structure.
10. (cryptocurrencies) Tiny amounts of cryptocurrency left over after a transaction due to rounding error.
verb
third-person singular simple present dusts, present participle dusting, simple past and past participle dusted
1. (transitive) To remove dust from.
  Quotations
  There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […], and all these articles […] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.
  1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
2. (intransitive) To remove dust; to clean by removing dust.
3. (intransitive) Of a bird, to cover itself in sand or dry, dusty earth.
4. (transitive) To spray or cover something with fine powder or liquid.
5. (chiefly US slang) To leave; to rush off.
  Quotations
  He added in a casual tone: ‘The girl can dust. I'd like to talk to you a little, soldier.’
  1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 75
6. To reduce to a fine powder; to levigate.
  Quotations
  good Powder differs from bad […] in having more Peter and less Coal; and lastly, in the well dusting of it
  1667, Thomas Sprat, History of the Royal Society of London
7. (slang) To kill.
  Quotations
  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.
  1984, The Terminator, spoken by Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), Los Angeles, Calif.: Orion Pictures; distributed by MGM Home Entertainment, published 1984
8. (cryptocurrencies) To attempt to identify the owner of (a cryptocurrency wallet) by sending tiny amounts of cryptocurrency.

Definition of "dust"

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noun

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