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/dʌst/
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Fine dry matter in the air or on surfaces, with related uses for decay into earth, cleaning it away, sprinkling powder, and slang for overwhelming defeat.
Examples A film of dust covered the piano keys.
Moon dust clung to the astronauts' boots.
Farmers dusted the crop with pesticide.
Years of weather turned the bones to dust .
In the film, the villain threatens to dust the witness.
Meanings Usage Use dust for loose, dry particles rather than for wet dirt, mud, or a solid lump of material.
Examples A film of dust covered the piano keys.
Wind lifted red dust from the road.
The filter traps pollen, soot, and fine dust .
Moon dust clung to the astronauts' boots.
Coal dust can irritate the lungs.
Common mistakes The uncountable noun takes singular agreement in everyday use, while plural dusts is mainly technical for kinds of dust.
Incorrect Correct The dust are covering the table.
The dust is covering the table.
There are many dust on the shelf.
There is a lot of dust on the shelf.
Mud dust covered his boots.
Mud covered his boots.
Dust entered to my eyes.
Dust got in my eyes.
Similar words powder
particles
grit debris
residue
specks
Usage Use dust this way in poetic, religious, or reflective contexts, not as the ordinary word for a corpse or ashes.
Examples The old wall crumbled into dust .
The prayer speaks of returning to dust .
Years of weather turned the bones to dust .
The fallen empire was only dust in the poem.
The vase shattered, then slowly ground down to dust .
Common mistakes The literary sense is overused when plain words like ashes , ruins , or remains would be clearer.
Incorrect Correct The mechanic swept the car dust after the crash.
The mechanic swept up the debris after the crash.
The document became dust when I deleted it.
The document disappeared when I deleted it.
Her grandfather is a dust in the cemetery.
Her grandfather is buried in the cemetery.
Similar words earth
ashes
remains
powder
ruin
Usage Use dust for dry surface cleaning, and name the object being cleaned rather than adding off unless a phrasal verb is intended.
Examples She dusts the shelves every Friday.
Please dust the frames before the guests arrive.
He dusted the keyboard with a soft brush.
The museum staff dust the cases carefully.
I dusted the lampshade and washed the table.
Common mistakes The verb already includes removing dust, so an extra object like dust often makes the sentence clumsy.
Incorrect Correct I dusted the dust from the desk.
I dusted the desk.
She dusted the floor with a mop.
She mopped the floor.
He made dusting the bookshelf.
He dusted the bookshelf.
Please dust off the room.
Please dust the room.
Similar words clean
wipe
brush
sweep
polish clear
Usage Use dust with with for the substance applied, as in dust the cake with sugar .
Examples The baker dusted the cake with powdered sugar.
Lightly dust the pan with flour before adding batter.
Farmers dusted the crop with pesticide.
She dusted the truffles with cocoa.
The printmaker dusted the plate with fine resin.
Common mistakes The substance should be named after with , and this sense does not mean pouring on a heavy layer.
Incorrect Correct Dust the cake by powdered sugar.
Dust the cake with powdered sugar.
Dust the pan with a lot of flour until it is full.
Dust the pan lightly with flour.
She dusted sugar into the tea.
She stirred sugar into the tea.
The farmer dusted the crop water.
The farmer sprayed the crop with water.
Similar words sprinkle
powder
coat
scatter
sift
Usage Use dust for informal, forceful talk about total defeat, and avoid it in formal reports unless quoting slang.
Examples The sprinter dusted the field in the final lap.
Our team got dusted in the first round.
The champion dusted every challenger that season.
In the film, the villain threatens to dust the witness.
A single mistake let the veteran player dust him.
Common mistakes The slang sense needs a direct object and implies an overwhelming result, not a narrow win.
Incorrect Correct The team dusted to its rivals.
The team dusted its rivals.
She dusted the match by one point.
She edged the match by one point.
He dusted the exam.
He aced the exam.
They dusted against the champions.
They got dusted by the champions.
Usage Use context to separate the particle noun, the two opposite verb senses of removing dust and applying powder, the literary decay sense, and the informal defeat sense.
Common mistakes The noun dust is usually uncountable, so everyday sentences use much dust or a lot of dust , not many dusts .
Etymology From Old English dūst , with Germanic relatives including Dutch duist and German Dunst . The verb grew from the noun, first for raising or sprinkling dust and later for cleaning it away. The slang defeat sense is recorded in American English in the twentieth century.
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