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

Most locations that receive these snow showers will see from a dusting to around an inch of accumulation. —Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025

The accumulation Louisville could see from the late snowfall won't be much more than a dusting, according to projections from the National Weather Service. —Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 9 Nov. 2025

Plus, the vacuum has a carbon fiber soft dusting brush and a mattress tool for home cleaning. —PC Magazine, 7 Nov. 2025

The base is designed to mimic the branches of a Crestwood Spruce tree after a light dusting of snow. —Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dusting

• busting
• crusting
• gusting
• lusting
• rusting
• thrusting
• trusting
• adjusting
• disgusting
• distrusting
• encrusting
• entrusting