(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
Dust is very small dry particles of earth or sand.
Tanks raise huge trails of ~ when they move...
N-UNCOUNT
2.
Dust is the very small pieces of dirt which you find inside buildings, for example on furniture, floors, or lights.
I could see a thick layer of ~ on the stairs...
N-UNCOUNT
3.
Dust is a fine powder which consists of very small particles of a substance such as gold, wood, or coal.
The air is so black with diesel fumes and coal ~, I can barely see.
N-UNCOUNT: oft n N
4.
When you ~ something such as furniture, you remove ~ from it, usually using a cloth.
I vacuumed and ~ed the living room...
She ~ed, she cleaned, and she did the washing-up.
VERB: V n, V
~ing
I’m very fortunate in that I don’t have to do the washing-up or the ~ing.
N-UNCOUNT
5.
If you ~ something with a fine substance such as powder or if you ~ a fine substance onto something, you cover it lightly with that substance.
Lightly ~ the fish with flour...
Dry your feet well and then ~ between the toes with baby powder.
VERB: V n prep/adv, V adv/prep
6.
If you say that something has bitten the ~, you are emphasizing that it no longer exists or that it has failed. (HUMOROUS, INFORMAL)
In the last 30 years many cherished values have bitten the ~...
PHRASE: V inflects emphasis
7.
If you say that something will happen when the ~ settles, you mean that a situation will be clearer after it has calmed down. If you let the ~ settle before doing something, you let a situation calm down before you try to do anything else. (INFORMAL)
Once the ~ had settled Beck defended his decision...
PHRASE: V inflects
8.
If you say that something is gathering ~, you mean that it has been left somewhere and nobody is using it or doing anything with it.
Many of the machines are gathering ~ in basements...
PHRASE: V inflects