dust 1 S3 W3 / dʌst / 名词

1 [不可数名词] dry powder consisting of extremely small bits of dirt that is in buildings on furniture, floors etc if they are not kept clean :

All the furniture was covered in dust .

a thick layer of dust

There’s not a speck of dust in the kitchen.

gather/collect dust (= become covered with dust )

Her old trophies were collecting dust on the shelves.

Dust particles floated in the sunlight.

A sudden breeze sent motes of dust (= small bits of dust ) dancing in the air.

2 [不可数名词] dry powder consisting of extremely small bits of earth or sand :

The wind was blowing dust and leaves up from the ground.

A car sped past in a cloud of dust .

3 [不可数名词] powder consisting of extremely small bits of a particular substance

coal/brick/chalk etc dust

4 a dust British English the act of dusting something :

I need to give the sitting room a dust .

5 let the dust settle/wait for the dust to settle to allow or wait for a confused situation to become clear

→ bite the dust at bite 1 ( 8 ) , → dusty , → leave somebody in the dust at leave 1 ( 15 ) , → not see somebody for dust at see 1 ( 36 )

COLLOCATIONS

动词

be covered in dust Everything was filthy and covered in dust.

gather/collect dust (= become covered with dust ) Piles of old books lay on the floor gathering dust.

短语

a layer of dust I brushed away the thin layer of dust which covered the picture.

a speck of dust (= a tiny piece of dust ) By the time I’d finished cleaning, there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere.

a particle of dust/a dust particle (= a small piece of dust ) The air is full of dust particles.

motes of dust/dust motes literary (= small pieces of dust ) Glittering motes of dust hung in the sunlight.

THESAURUS

soil the top layer of the earth that plants grow in : Roses do best in well-drained, slightly acid soil.

earth the brown substance that the ground is made up of : Thousands of tons of earth were moved to build the dam.

dirt American English loose dry earth : a pile of loose dirt in the wheelbarrow

dust a dry powder made up of extremely small bits of earth or sand : A cloud of dust billowed out behind the tractor.

mud wet soil that has become soft and sticky : The dog came back covered in mud.