dust

CEFRA2

/dʌst/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Very small dry particles of dirt or earth.

  2. 02

    verb

    To remove dust from a surface.

Examples

  • A cloud of dust rose as the truck drove off.

  • Brush off the dust from your shoes.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Fine particles., Any substance reduced to fine particles; powder.

  2. Fine particles., Submicron particles in outer space, largely silicates and carbon compounds, that contribute greatly to extinction at visible wavelengths.

  3. Fine particles.

More examples

In context

  • The desk is covered with dust.

  • The cleaning lady needs a stool to dust the cupboard.

  • to raise, or kick up, a dust

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

A thick layer of blank covered the old piano keys.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English dust, doust, from Old English dūst (“dust, dried earth reduced to powder; other dry material reduced to powder”), from the fusion of Proto-Germanic *dustą (“dust”) and *dunstą (“mist, dust, evaporation”), both from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Cognate with Scots dust, dist (“dust”), Dutch duist (“pollen, dust”) and dons (“down, fuzz”), German Dust (“dust”) and Dunst (“haze”), Swedish dust (“dust”), Icelandic dust (“dust”), Latin fūmus (“smoke, steam”). Also related to Swedish dun (“down, fluff”), Icelandic dúnn (“down, fluff”). See down.