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noun
1.
any solid substance reduced to a state of fine, loose particles by crushing, grinding, disintegration, etc.
2.
a preparation in this form, as gunpowder or face powder.
3.
Also, powder snow. Skiing. loose, usually fresh snow that is not granular, wet, or packed.
verb (used with object)
4.
to reduce to powder; pulverize.
5.
to sprinkle or cover with powder: She powdered the cookies with confectioners' sugar.
6.
to apply powder to (the face, skin, etc.) as a cosmetic.
7.
to sprinkle or strew as if with powder: A light snowfall powdered the landscape.
8.
to ornament in this fashion, as with small objects scattered over a surface: a dress lightly powdered with sequins.
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Powder
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
verb (used without object)
9.
to use powder as a cosmetic.
10.
to become pulverized.
Origin:
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English poudre < Old French < Latin pulver- (stem of pulvis) dust, powder; akin to pollen; (v.) Middle English poudren < Old French poudrer, derivative of poudre
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English poudre < Old French < Latin pulver- (stem of pulvis) dust, powder; akin to pollen; (v.) Middle English poudren < Old French poudrer, derivative of poudre
Related forms
pow·der·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used without object)
1.
British Dialect. to rush.
noun
Idiom2.
British Dialect. a sudden, frantic, or impulsive rush.
3.
take a powder, Slang. to leave in a hurry; depart without taking leave, as to avoid something unpleasant: He took a powder and left his mother to worry about his gambling debts. Also, take a runout powder.
Origin:
1625–35; origin uncertain
1625–35; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Powder
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
powder
late 13c., from O.Fr. poudre (13c.), earlier pouldre (11c.), from L. pulverem (nom. pulvis) "dust" (see pollen). In the sense "powdered cosmetic," it is recorded from 1570s. In figurative sense, powder keg is first attested 1855. Powder room, euphemistic for "women's lavatory,"
EXPANDis attested from 1941. Powder puff first recorded 1704; as a symbol of femaleness or effeminacy, in use from at least 1930s. Phrase take a powder "scram, vanish," is from 1920, perhaps from the notion of taking a laxative medicine, so one has to leave in a hurry; or from a magician's magical powder, which made things disappear.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
powder pow·der (pou'dər)
n.
A dry mass of pulverized or finely dispersed solid particles.
Any of various medicinal or cosmetic preparations in the form of powder.
A single dose of a powdered drug.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Word Dynamo Rating For Powder
Slang
Idioms & Phrases
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