dust
[noun]
Synonyms:
- grime, grit, particles, powder
[verb]
Synonyms:
- sprinkle, cover, dredge, powder, scatter, sift, spray, spread

---

Related Idioms: throw dust in one's eyes

---

English Thesaurus: soil, earth, dirt, dust, mud, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. dust¹ S3 W3 /dʌst/ noun
[Language: Old English]

1. [uncountable] dry powder consisting of extremely small bits of dirt that is in buildings on furniture, floors etc if they are not kept clean:
All the furniture was covered in dust.
a thick layer of dust
There’s not a speck of dust in the kitchen.
gather/collect dust (=become covered with dust)
Her old trophies were collecting dust on the shelves.
Dust particles floated in the sunlight.
A sudden breeze sent motes of dust (=small bits of dust) dancing in the air.

2. [uncountable] dry powder consisting of extremely small bits of earth or sand:
The wind was blowing dust and leaves up from the ground.
A car sped past in a cloud of dust.

3. [uncountable] powder consisting of extremely small bits of a particular substance
coal/brick/chalk etc dust

4. a dust British English the act of dusting something:
I need to give the sitting room a dust.

5. let the dust settle/wait for the dust to settle to allow or wait for a confused situation to become clear
⇒ bite the dust at bite¹(8), ⇒ dusty, ⇒ leave somebody in the dust at leave¹(15), ⇒ not see somebody for dust at see¹(36)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. dust² verb

1. [intransitive and transitive] to clean the dust from a surface by moving something such as a soft cloth across it:
Rachel dusted the books and the bookshelves.
I was dusting in the bedroom when the phone rang.

2. [transitive] (also dust down, dust off) to remove something such as dust or dirt from your clothes by brushing them with your hands:
He got to his feet and dusted his knees.
dust yourself (down/off)
Corbett dusted himself down and walked off.

3. [transitive] to put a fine powder over something
dust something with something
Dust the biscuits with icing sugar.
dust something ↔ off phrasal verb

1. to remove something such as dust or dirt from your clothes by brushing them with your hands:
They were dusting off leaves and twigs.
dust yourself off
He got to his feet and dusted himself off.

2. to get something ready in order to use it again, after not using it for a long time:
The government is dusting off schemes for supporting creative industries.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

dust
noun
ADJ. fine | brick, coal, radioactive
QUANT. cloud, layer The tractor came up the track in a cloud of dust. There was a layer of fine dust on the table.
particle, speck Remove any particles of dust on the surface of the paint. microscopic specks of dust
VERB + DUST gather Her chess set lay on a shelf gathering dust.
be covered in/with
DUST + VERB lie The dust now lay in a thick layer on her piano.
DUST + NOUN cloud | particle | storm

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dust

be covered in dust
Everything was filthy and covered in dust.
gather/collect dust (=become covered with dust)
Piles of old books lay on the floor gathering dust.
a layer of dust
I brushed away the thin layer of dust which covered the picture.
a speck of dust (=a tiny piece of dust)
By the time I'd finished cleaning, there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere.
a particle of dust/a dust particle (=a small piece of dust)
The air is full of dust particles.
motes of dust/dust motes literary (=small pieces of dust)
Glittering motes of dust hung in the sunlight.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dust
noun
BAD: People eventually get ill from breathing in all the dusts and smoke.
GOOD: People eventually get ill from breathing in all the dust and smoke.

Usage Note:
Dust is an uncountable noun: 'The house hadn't been lived in for a long time and the furniture was covered in dust.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

soil the top layer of the earth that plants grow in:
Roses do best in well-drained, slightly acid soil.
earth the brown substance that the ground is made up of:
Thousands of tons of earth were moved to build the dam.
dirt American English loose dry earth:
a pile of loose dirt in the wheelbarrow
dust a dry powder made up of extremely small bits of earth or sand:
A cloud of dust billowed out behind the tractor.
mud wet soil that has become soft and sticky:
The dog came back covered in mud.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

dust
dʌst
See: bite the dust , kick up a fuss or kick up a dust , watch one's dust , after the dust clears/when the dust settles

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲