bite the dust

dust

[duhst]
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.
a.
ashes, refuse, etc.
b.
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.
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Bite the dust is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
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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,
a.
to be killed, especially in battle; die.
b.
to suffer defeat; be unsuccessful; fail: Another manufacturer has bitten the dust.
22.
dust off,
a.
Baseball. (of a pitcher) to throw the ball purposely at or dangerously close to (the batter).
b.
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.
c.
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,
a.
to be killed; die.
b.
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
dust·less, adjective
re·dust, verb (used with object)
un·dust·ed, adjective
well-dust·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To bite the dust
Collins
World English Dictionary
dust (dʌst) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
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.  a.  the mortal body of man
 b.  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
 a.  to fail completely or cease to exist
 b.  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
 
—vb
16.  (tr) 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
 
[Old English dūst; related to Danish dyst flour dust, Middle Dutch dūst dust, meal dust, Old High German tunst storm]
 
'dustless
 
—adj

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dust
O.E. dust, from P.Gmc. *dunstaz, from PIE *dheu- with a sense of "smoke, vapor" (cf. Skt. dhu- "shake," L. fumus "smoke"). The verb means both "to sprinkle with dust" (1590s) and "to rid of dust" (1560s). Sense of "to kill" is U.S. slang first recorded 1938 (cf. bite the dust under bite).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

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.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

bite the dust definition


  1. tv.
    to die. : A shot rang out, and another cowboy bit the dust.
  2. tv.
    to break; to fail; to give out. : My car finally bit the dust.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

dust definition


  1. in.
    to leave; to depart. : They dusted out of there at about midnight.
  2. tv.
    to defeat someone; to win out over someone. : We dusted the other team, eighty-seven to fifty-four.
  3. tv.
    to kill someone. (Underworld.) : The gang set out to dust the witnesses but got only one of them.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Dust definition


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).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

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."

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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