dust

dust
—dustless, adj.
/dust/, n.
1. earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
2. a cloud of finely powdered earth or other matter in the air.
3. any finely powdered substance, as sawdust.
4. the ground; the earth's surface.
5. the substance to which something, as the dead human body, is ultimately reduced by disintegration or decay; earthly remains.
6. Brit.
a. ashes, refuse, etc.
b. junk1 (def. 1).
7. a low or humble condition.
8. anything worthless.
9. disturbance; turmoil.
10. See gold dust.
11. the mortal body of a human being.
12. a single particle or grain.
13. Archaic. money; cash.
14. bite the dust,
a. to be killed, esp. in battle; die.
b. to suffer defeat; be unsuccessful; fail: Another manufacturer has bitten the dust.
15. leave one in the dust, to overtake and surpass a competitor or one who is less ambitious, qualified, etc.: Don't be so meek, they'll leave you in the dust.
16. lick the dust,
a. to be killed; die.
b. to humble oneself abjectly; grovel: He will resign rather than lick the dust.
17. make the dust fly, to execute with vigor or speed: We turned them loose on the work, and they made the dust fly.
18. shake the dust from one's feet, to depart in anger or disdain; leave decisively or in haste, esp. from an unpleasant situation: As the country moved toward totalitarianism, many of the intelligentsia shook the dust from their feet.
19. throw dust in someone's eyes, to mislead; deceive: He threw dust in our eyes by pretending to be a jeweler and then disappeared with the diamonds.
v.t.
20. to wipe the dust from: to dust a table.
21. to sprinkle with a powder or dust: to dust rosebushes with an insecticide.
22. to strew or sprinkle (a powder, dust, or other fine particles): to dust insecticide on a rosebush.
23. to soil with dust; make dusty.
v.i.
24. to wipe dust from furniture, woodwork, etc.
25. to become dusty.
26. to apply dust or powder to a plant, one's body, etc.: to dust with an insecticide in late spring.
27. dust off,
a. Baseball. (of a pitcher) to throw the ball purposely at or dangerously close to (the batter).
b. to take out or prepare for use again, as after a period of inactivity or storage: I'm going to dust off my accounting skills and try to get a job in the finance department.
c. to beat up badly: The gang of hoodlums dusted off a cop.
[bef. 900; ME; OE dust; c. G Dunst vapor]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • dust — [dust] n. [ME < OE, akin to MLowG: for IE base see DUN1] 1. powdery earth or other matter in bits fine enough to be easily suspended in air 2. a cloud of such matter 3. confusion; turmoil 4. a) earth, esp. as the place of burial …   English World dictionary

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