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

Accumulations will be minor—generally a dusting to half an inch, with isolated spots up to an inch possible before Thursday morning. —Brandi D. Addison, IndyStar, 3 Dec. 2025

Use a paintbrush for a quick dusting between more thorough cleanings. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 3 Dec. 2025

This system will bring anywhere from a fresh dusting to a few more inches of snow to Midwest and Great Lakes cities that just experienced their record-snowiest November day from a major post-Thanksgiving winter storm on Saturday, including Chicago, Madison, Wisconsin; and Springfield, Illinois. —Cnn Meteorologist Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025

Plus, the vacuum has a carbon fiber soft dusting brush and a mattress tool for home cleaning. —PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 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