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Dross has been a part of the English language since Anglo-Saxon times. It comes from the Old English word drōs, meaning "dregs," those solid materials that fall to the bottom of a container full of a liquid such as coffee or wine. While dross today is used to refer to anything of low value or quality, its earliest use is technical: dross is a metallurgy term referring to solid scum that forms on the surface of a metal when it is molten or melting—remove the dross to improve the metal. The metallurgical sense of the word is often hinted at in its general use, with dross set in contrast to gold, as when 19th century British poet Christina Rossetti wrote "Besides, those days were golden days, / Whilst these are days of dross."
Examples of dross in a Sentence
Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 19 June 2025
But among the dross there gleam a few brilliant exceptions—deceptive, slippery books that defy the constraints of region and genre.
—Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The chipmaker is still raising cash and cutting costs though, as there seems to be quite a bit of dross.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
Could the cotton dross, for instance, enhance a food product’s nutritional profile?
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
After the dross of Bruno Lage, and the chaos of Lopetegui, Gary O'Neil came in and created unity.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Back in the Lage dross years, that's when.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Mixed in with the everyday dross are a few sparkly flecks of strangeness, curious anomalies that might be clues to a larger mystery.
—Lev Grossman, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024
Those, plus the endless Chinese dross, truly burned investors.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dross.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dross. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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dross
noun
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