Meaning & use
dust
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Meanings
noununcountable
Very small dry particles of earth, skin, pollen, ash, or other matter that collect on surfaces.
Grammar: No plural in ordinary use; say some dust, not a dust, unless you mean one act of sprinkling.
Patterns
- a layer of dust
- covered in dust
- cloud of dust
A thick layer of dust covered the books nobody had opened.
Sunlight showed dust floating in the quiet room.
The truck kicked up a cloud of dust on the dirt road.
verbtransitive
To remove dust from furniture, shelves, or objects by wiping, brushing, or vacuuming.
Grammar: Takes an object: dust the shelf; without an object it can sound incomplete in this sense.
Patterns
- dust the furniture
- dust something thoroughly
- dust every shelf
Please dust the TV stand before the guests arrive.
She dusted the piano and polished the keys.
He hates to dust, so he keeps fewer ornaments.
verbtransitive
To sprinkle a light covering of powder, sugar, snow, or similar fine material onto something.
Grammar: Also takes an object and often with: dust the cake with sugar; this adds powder rather than removing dirt.
Patterns
- dust something with flour
- dust icing sugar over cake
- lightly dust a surface
Dust the work surface with flour before rolling the dough.
She dusted icing sugar over the warm brownies.
Snow dusted the rooftops overnight.
Word forms
| third person singular | dusts |
|---|---|
| past tense | dusted |
| past participle | dusted |
| -ing form | dusting |
Common combinations
- a layer of dust
- A layer of dust hid the old mirror.
- dust the shelves
- I need to dust the shelves before moving.
- dust with flour
- Dust the board with flour so the pastry does not stick.
- dust storm
- A dust storm reduced visibility on the highway.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: dust or dusk? dust or dusted?
dust vs dusk
Dusk is the darker part of evening; dust is fine dirt.
dust vs dusted
As a form it is ambiguous: cleaned in “dusted the shelf,” sprinkled in “dusted with sugar.”
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Dust as ordinary dirt is uncountable, so was dust is right; the verb needs -s for she, and dusting with sugar adds powder rather than removing it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dust”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.