dross
noun/drɒs/
/drɑːs/
[uncountable]- (especially British English) something of very low quality; the least valuable part of something
- mass-produced dross
- The well-written dialogue separates this film from the usual teenage dross.
- He considered the working class to be the dross of society.
- (specialist) a waste substance, especially that separated from a metal when it is melted
- The fire burns away the dross leaving the pure metal.
Word OriginOld English drōs (in the sense ‘scum on molten metal’); related to Dutch droesem and German Drusen ‘dregs, lees’.
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