dust
/dʌst/ verb C2- To remove dust from. · The cleaning lady needs a stool to dust the cupboard.
- To remove dust; to clean by removing dust. · Dusting always makes me cough.
- Of a bird, to cover itself in sand or dry, dusty earth.
- To spray or cover (something) with fine powder or liquid, to sprinkle. · The mother dusted her baby’s bum with talcum powder.
- To sprinkle (a substance) in the form of dust.
- To leave quickly; to rush off.
- To defeat badly, to thrash.
- To kill.
He/she/it dusts · Past dusted · Past participle dusted · -ing form dusting
Verb forms
- Base form
- dust
- He/she/it
- dusts
- Past
- dusted
- Past participle
- dusted
- -ing form
- dusting
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
The screen-work broke and fell away in a cloud of dust and rubbish, and Mowgli leaped through the opening and flung himself between Baloo and Bagheera--an arm around each big neck.
The last words were shrieked as he was being swung through the air, but Rann nodded and rose up till he looked no bigger than a speck of dust, and there he hung, watching with his telescope eyes the swaying of the treetops as Mowgli’s escort whirled along.
But just as Teddy was stooping, something wriggled a little in the dust, and a tiny voice said: “Be careful.
He went away for a dust bath under the castor-oil bushes, while Teddy’s father beat the dead Karait.
Other matches
Learn dust in real texts
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