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dust off

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dust

  [duhst]
Use dust off in a Sentence
–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. junk 1 (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,
a. to be killed, esp. 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, esp. 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:
bef. 900; ME; OE dūst; c. G Dunst vapor

Related forms:
dustless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dust   (dŭst)   
n.  

  1. Fine, dry particles of matter.

  2. A cloud of fine, dry particles.

  3. Particles of matter regarded as the result of disintegration: fabric that had fallen to dust over the centuries.

    1. Earth, especially when regarded as the substance of the grave: "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" (Book of Common Prayer).

    2. The surface of the ground.

  5. A debased or despised condition.

  6. Something of no worth.

  7. Chiefly British Rubbish readied for disposal.

  8. Confusion; agitation; commotion: won't go back in until the dust settles.

v.   dust·ed, dust·ing, dusts

v.   tr.

  1. To remove dust from by wiping, brushing, or beating: dust the furniture.

  2. To sprinkle with a powdery substance: dusted the cookies with sugar; dust crops with fertilizer.

  3. To apply or strew in fine particles: dusted talcum powder on my feet.

  4. Baseball To deliver a pitch so close to (the batter) as to make the batter back away.

v.   intr.

  1. To clean by removing dust.

  2. To cover itself with such particulate matter. Used of a bird.

Phrasal Verb(s):
dust offTo restore to use: dusted off last year's winter coat.

Idiom(s):
in the dustFar behind, as in a race or competition: a marketing strategy that left our competitors in the dust.

Idiom(s):
make the dust flyTo go about a task with great energy and speed.

[Middle English, from Old English dūst.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
dust

  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.
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dust (so) off

  1. tv.
    to give someone a good pounding or beating. : Bob dusted off Larry; then he started for Tom.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

dust  (n.)
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" (1592) and "to rid of dust" (1568). Sense of "to kill" is U.S. slang first recorded 1938. Dustbowl in reference to a drought-plagued region of the U.S. Midwest first recorded 1936. Dustup "fight" is from 1897; to dust (someone's) coat was ironical for "to beat (someone) soundly" (1690).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

dust off

  1. Restore to use. For example, I've dusted off last year's menu for the party. This usage alludes to cleaning and thereby renewing some object. [Mid-1900s]

  2. Pitch a baseball dangerously close to the batter's head, as in I'm sure he dusted him off on purpose. [Slang; 1920s]

  3. Finish off, kill; also, easily defeat. For example, They vowed to dust off the old man, or We'll dust off this team in no time. [Slang; c. 1940]

  4. Thrash, beat up, as in If he didn't hand over his wallet, they threatened to dust him off. [Slang; 1920s]

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