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Definition of powder - 11 dictionary results
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pow⋅der

1  [pou-der]
Use powder in a Sentence
–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.
–verb (used without object)
9. to use powder as a cosmetic.
10. to become pulverized.
Origin:
1250–1300; (n.) ME poudre < OF < L pulver- (s. of pulvis) dust, powder; akin to pollen; (v.) ME poudren < OF poudrer, deriv. of poudre

Related forms:
pow⋅der⋅er, noun

pow⋅der

2  [pou-der]
–verb (used without object)
1. British Dialect. to rush.
–noun
2. British Dialect. a sudden, frantic, or impulsive rush.
—Idiom
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; orig. uncert.

Powder River

 
1. a river in NE Oregon, flowing N and SE to the Snake River. 110 mi. (177 km) long.
2. a river in NE Wyoming and SE Montana, flowing NE to the Yellowstone River. 375 mi. (603 km) long.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To powder
pow·der   (pou'dər)   
n.  
  1. A substance consisting of ground, pulverized, or otherwise finely dispersed solid particles.
  2. Any of various preparations in the form of powder, as certain cosmetics and medicines.
  3. An explosive mixture, such as gunpowder.
  4. Light dry snow.
v.   pow·dered, pow·der·ing, pow·ders

v.   tr.
  1. To reduce to powder; pulverize.
  2. To dust or cover with or as if with powder.
  3. Slang To defeat handily or decisively.
v.   intr.
  1. To become pulverized; turn into powder.
  2. To use powder as a cosmetic.

[Middle English poudre, from Old French, from Latin pulvis, pulver-.]
pow'der·er n.
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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Powder

Pow"der\, n. [OE. poudre, pouldre, F. poudre, OF. also poldre, puldre, L. pulvis, pulveris: cf. pollen fine flour, mill dust, E. pollen. Cf. Polverine, Pulverize.]

1. The fine particles to which any dry substance is reduced by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or into which it falls by decay; dust.

Grind their bones to powder small. --Shak.

2. An explosive mixture used in gunnery, blasting, etc.; gunpowder. See Gunpowder.

Atlas powder, Baking powder, etc. See under Atlas, Baking, etc.

Powder down (Zo["o]l.), the peculiar dust, or exfoliation, of powder-down feathers.

Powder-down feather (Zo["o]l.), one of a peculiar kind of modified feathers which sometimes form patches on certain parts of some birds. They have a greasy texture and a scaly exfoliation.

Powder-down patch (Zo["o]l.), a tuft or patch of powder-down feathers.

Powder hose, a tube of strong linen, about an inch in diameter, filled with powder and used in firing mines. --Farrow.

Powder hoy (Naut.), a vessel specially fitted to carry powder for the supply of war ships. They are usually painted red and carry a red flag.

Powder magazine, or Powder room. See Magazine, 2.

Powder mine, a mine exploded by gunpowder. See Mine.

Powder monkey (Naut.), a boy formerly employed on war vessels to carry powder; a powder boy.

Powder post. See Dry rot, under Dry.

Powder puff. See Puff, n.

Powder

Pow"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Powdered; p. pr. & vb. n. Powdering.] [F. poudrer.]

1. To reduce to fine particles; to pound, grind, or rub into a powder; to comminute; to pulverize; to triturate.

2. To sprinkle with powder, or as with powder; to be sprinkle; as, to powder the hair.

A circling zone thou seest Powdered with stars. --Milton.

3. To sprinkle with salt; to corn, as meat. [Obs.]

Powder

Pow"der\, v. i. 1. To be reduced to powder; to become like powder; as, some salts powder easily.

2. To use powder on the hair or skin; as, she paints and powders.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : powder
Spanish: polvo,
German: das Pulver,
Japanese: 粉
More Translations »

powder 
c.1290, 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 1571. The verb is attested from c.1300, from O.Fr. poudrer, from poudre. In fig. sense, powder keg is first attested 1855. Powder room, euphemistic for "women's lavatory," is 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pow·der
Pronunciation: 'paud-&r
Function: noun
: a product in the form of discrete usually fine particles; specifically : a medicine or medicated preparation in the form of a powder powder> powder>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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powder pow·der (pou'dər)
n.

  1. A dry mass of pulverized or finely dispersed solid particles.
  2. Any of various medicinal or cosmetic preparations in the form of powder.
  3. 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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powder

see keep one's powder dry; sitting on a powder keg; take a powder.

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