dust: Meaning and Definition of

dust

Pronunciation: (dust), [key]
— 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.
    1. ashes, refuse, etc.
    2. junk1 (def. 1).
  6. a low or humble condition.
  7. anything worthless.
  8. disturbance; turmoil.
  9. See
  10. the mortal body of a human being.
  11. a single particle or grain.
  12. money; cash.
  13. Another manufacturer has bitten the dust.
    1. to be killed, esp. in battle; die.
    2. to suffer defeat; be unsuccessful; fail:Another manufacturer has bitten the dust.
  14. 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.
  15. He will resign rather than lick the dust.
    1. to be killed; die.
    2. to humble oneself abjectly; grovel:He will resign rather than lick the dust.
  16. to execute with vigor or speed: We turned them loose on the work, and they made the dust fly.
  17. 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.
  18. to mislead; deceive: He threw dust in our eyes by pretending to be a jeweler and then disappeared with the diamonds.
—v.t.
  1. to wipe the dust from: to dust a table.
  2. to sprinkle with a powder or dust: to dust rosebushes with an insecticide.
  3. to strew or sprinkle (a powder, dust, or other fine particles): to dust insecticide on a rosebush.
  4. to soil with dust; make dusty.
—v.i.
  1. to wipe dust from furniture, woodwork, etc.
  2. to become dusty.
  3. to apply dust or powder to a plant, one's body, etc.: to dust with an insecticide in late spring.
  4. I'm going to dust off my accounting skills and try to get a job in the finance department.
    1. Baseball.(of a pitcher) to throw the ball purposely at or dangerously close to (the batter).
    2. 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.
    3. to beat up badly:The gang of hoodlums dusted off a cop.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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