1. Very small dry particles of a substance; such as, sand, dirt, or coal, either in the form of a deposit or in a cloud: The wind was blowing the various dusts from the deserts to non-desert areas.

A towering cloud of Gobi Desert sand dwarfed the rows of houses as it descended on a small village in central China while the residents hid inside their homes with their windows and doors locked shut as the desert dust swept through the region advancing 70 feet a minute.

2. The small particles of dirt that settle on surfaces in buildings; including, houses, public buildings, industrial areas, etc.: The housekeeper was unable to keep up with the dust that drifted in from the local highway construction.
3. The small particles that something, especially a human body, is thought to be reduced to by decay after death: After cremation, Jennifer's remains were just particles of dust.
4. The earth, particularly that of someone's grave (a literary term): Many authors have referred to the grave or an individual buried in a grave as the dust of the earth.
5. Etymology: form Old English, "dust", from German Dunst, "mist, vapor". The meaning of "that to which living matter decays" was in Old English; hence, figuratively, "mortal life".

1. To make something clear, or cleaner, by brushing or wiping dirt from the surface of something: The cleaning lady dusted the tables, bookshelves, etc. at least once a week.

When Christa comes back from the beach, she always dusts the sand off her legs before she goes into her house.

2. To cover something with a fine powder: The police dusted the table and chairs for fingerprints.

William's mother usually dusts the cake with powdered sugar.

The farmer is dusting his crops with a pesticide.

3. Etymology: from about 1200, "to rise as dust"; later it came to mean both "to sprinkle with dust" and "to rid of dust". The meaning, "to kill" is a U.S. slang term that was first recorded 1938; such as, "he was known to bite the dust as a result of the auto accident".