dust

[duhst] /dʌst/
noun
1.
earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
2.
a cloud of finely powdered earth or other matter in the air.
3.
any finely powdered substance, as sawdust.
4.
the ground; the earth's surface.
5.
the substance to which something, as the dead human body, is ultimately reduced by disintegration or decay; earthly remains.
6.
British.
  1. ashes, refuse, etc.
  2. junk1 (def 1).
7.
a low or humble condition.
8.
anything worthless.
9.
disturbance; turmoil.
10.
gold dust.
11.
the mortal body of a human being.
12.
a single particle or grain.
13.
Archaic. money; cash.
verb (used with object)
14.
to wipe the dust from:
to dust a table.
15.
to sprinkle with a powder or dust:
to dust rosebushes with an insecticide.
16.
to strew or sprinkle (a powder, dust, or other fine particles):
to dust insecticide on a rosebush.
17.
to soil with dust; make dusty.
verb (used without object)
18.
to wipe dust from furniture, woodwork, etc.
19.
to become dusty.
20.
to apply dust or powder to a plant, one's body, etc.:
to dust with an insecticide in late spring.
Idioms
21.
bite the dust,
  1. to be killed, especially in battle; die.
  2. to suffer defeat; be unsuccessful; fail:
    Another manufacturer has bitten the dust.
22.
dust off,
  1. Baseball. (of a pitcher) to throw the ball purposely at or dangerously close to (the batter).
  2. to take out or prepare for use again, as after a period of inactivity or storage:
    I'm going to dust off my accounting skills and try to get a job in the finance department.
  3. to beat up badly:
    The gang of hoodlums dusted off a cop.
23.
leave one in the dust, to overtake and surpass a competitor or one who is less ambitious, qualified, etc.:
Don't be so meek, they'll leave you in the dust.
24.
lick the dust,
  1. to be killed; die.
  2. to humble oneself abjectly; grovel:
    He will resign rather than lick the dust.
25.
make the dust fly, to execute with vigor or speed:
We turned them loose on the work, and they made the dust fly.
26.
shake the dust from one's feet, to depart in anger or disdain; leave decisively or in haste, especially from an unpleasant situation:
As the country moved toward totalitarianism, many of the intelligentsia shook the dust from their feet.
27.
throw dust in someone's eyes, to mislead; deceive:
He threw dust in our eyes by pretending to be a jeweler and then disappeared with the diamonds.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English dūst; cognate with German Dunst vapor
Related forms
dustless, adjective
redust, verb (used with object)
undusted, adjective
well-dusted, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for bite the dust

dust

/dʌst/
noun
1.
dry fine powdery material, such as particles of dirt, earth or pollen
2.
a cloud of such fine particles
3.
the powdery particles to which something is thought to be reduced by death, decay, or disintegration
4.
  1. the mortal body of man
  2. the corpse of a dead person
5.
the earth; ground
6.
(informal) a disturbance; fuss (esp in the phrases kick up a dust, raise a dust)
7.
something of little or no worth
8.
(informal) (in mining parlance) silicosis or any similar respiratory disease
9.
short for gold dust
10.
ashes or household refuse
11.
bite the dust
  1. to fail completely or cease to exist
  2. to fall down dead
12.
dust and ashes, something that is very disappointing
13.
leave someone or something in the dust, to outdo someone or something comprehensively or with ease: leaving their competitors in the dust
14.
shake the dust off one's feet, to depart angrily or contemptuously
15.
throw dust in the eyes of, to confuse or mislead
verb
16.
(transitive) to sprinkle or cover (something) with (dust or some other powdery substance): to dust a cake with sugar, to dust sugar onto a cake
17.
to remove dust by wiping, sweeping, or brushing
18.
(archaic) to make or become dirty with dust
See also dust down, dust-up
Derived Forms
dustless, adjective
Word Origin
Old English dūst; related to Danish dyst flour dust, Middle Dutch dūst dust, meal dust, Old High German tunst storm
Word Origin and History for bite the dust

dust

n.

Old English dust, from Proto-Germanic *dunstaz (cf. Old High German tunst "storm, breath," German Dunst "mist, vapor," Danish dyst "milldust," Dutch duist), from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, smoke, vapor" (cf. Sanskrit dhu- "shake," Latin fumus "smoke"). Meaning "that to which living matter decays" was in Old English, hence, figuratively, "mortal life."

v.

c.1200, "to rise as dust;" later "to sprinkle with dust" (1590s) and "to rid of dust" (1560s); from dust (n.). Related: Dusted; dusting. Sense of "to kill" is U.S. slang first recorded 1938 (cf. bite the dust under bite (v.)).

bite the dust in Culture

bite the dust definition


Literally, to fall face down in the dirt; to suffer a defeat: “Once again, the champion wins, and another contender bites the dust.”

Slang definitions & phrases for bite the dust

bite the dust

verb phrase
  1. To die or be killed (mid-1700s+)
  2. To fail; be destroyed: The ledgers showed too much red ink, and the company bit the dust (1940s+)

dust

noun

Narcotics in powder form (1960s+ Narcotics)

verb
  1. To leave quickly; flee; fly: Dillinger used a Ford when dusting from a job (1850+)
  2. To hit; swat: dusted one of the lieutenants with an old shoe for trying to talk them back to work (1612+)
  3. (also, earlier, dust off) To kill: Watch me dust this bitch/ Don't suppose you just want to dust Esteva and go home (1970s+)
  4. To spray insecticide from a low-flying aircraft (1930s+)
Related Terms

angel dust, eat someone's dust, happy-dust, heaven dust


bite the dust in the Bible

Storms of sand and dust sometimes overtake Eastern travellers. They are very dreadful, many perishing under them. Jehovah threatens to bring on the land of Israel, as a punishment for forsaking him, a rain of "powder and dust" (Deut. 28:24). To cast dust on the head was a sign of mourning (Josh. 7:6); and to sit in dust, of extreme affliction (Isa. 47:1). "Dust" is used to denote the grave (Job 7:21). "To shake off the dust from one's feet" against another is to renounce all future intercourse with him (Matt. 10:14; Acts 13:51). To "lick the dust" is a sign of abject submission (Ps. 72:9); and to throw dust at one is a sign of abhorrence (2 Sam. 16:13; comp. Acts 22:23).

Idioms and Phrases with bite the dust

bite the dust

Suffer defeat or death, as in The 1990 election saw both of our senators bite the dust. Although this expression was popularized by American Western films of the 1930s, in which either cowboys or Indians were thrown from their horses to the dusty ground, it originated much earlier. Tobias Smollett had it in Gil Blas (1750): “We made two of them bite the dust.”

dust

In addition to the idiom beginning with
dust
also see: