dust
verb/dʌst/
/dʌst/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they dust | /dʌst/ /dʌst/ |
| he / she / it dusts | /dʌsts/ /dʌsts/ |
| past simple dusted | /ˈdʌstɪd/ /ˈdʌstɪd/ |
| past participle dusted | /ˈdʌstɪd/ /ˈdʌstɪd/ |
| -ing form dusting | /ˈdʌstɪŋ/ /ˈdʌstɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to clean furniture, a room, etc. by removing dust from surfaces with a cloth
- I broke the vase while I was dusting.
- dust something Could you dust the sitting room?
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- [transitive] dust something (+ adv./prep.) to remove dirt from somebody/something/yourself with your hands or a brush
- She dusted some ash from her sleeve.
- [transitive] dust something (with something) to cover something with fine powder
- Dust the cake with sugar.
- She dusted her cheekbones with blusher.
Word OriginOld English dūst, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch duist ‘chaff’.
Idioms
See dust in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarydone and dusted
- (British English, informal) completely finished
- That's my article for the magazine done and dusted.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
Check pronunciation:
dust