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

More recently, Houston experienced a light dusting of snow in February 2021 during a devastating winter storm that paralyzed much of the state. —Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025

But down in our neck of the woods, well there just isn’t much need to have a fleet of snow plows or salt trucks at the ready when most of this region barely gets a dusting of snow once a year. —Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2025

Also not to miss: the outdoor panoramic cedar sauna, particularly stunning with a dusting of snow outside – an excellent start or finish to a day of spa treatments. —Ariel Okin, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2025

Beauty-wise, Thompson wore her hair half-up in a high ponytail and a light dusting of shimmery eyeshadow. —Marissa Muller, WWD, 25 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1