dusting

noun

dust·​ing ˈdə-stiŋ 

plural dustings

1

: the act of making something clean by brushing or wiping away dirt and dust from the surface

The furniture needs a good dusting.

2

a

: a small amount of something that falls or is sprinkled over a surface

During summer, the cracked floor looks prehistoric under the desert sun; during winter, it's intermittently covered by sheets of ice and dustings of snow.

—Joseph Stromberg

Add pearl onions, mushrooms, and a dusting of marjoram.

—Hali Ramdene

b

: a faint or slight quality or amount

… sporting a dusting of stubble, DiSpirito runs Union Pacific, a paragon of gilded, inventive Manhattan dining.

—James Poniewozik

Examples of dusting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Connecticut may see a snowy dusting Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2025

More:Gas prices in Michigan fall 7 cents, could go lower There could be a dusting of snow throughout the metro area into the end of the week. —Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 30 Dec. 2024

Carbon fiber soft dusting brush: This brush is built to pick up fine dust on more delicate surfaces like blinds, lampshades, mirrors, and more. —Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2024

But a dusting of snow in the Northeast could materialize on Christmas Eve. —Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1