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

Temperatures will start to slowly climb, and a weak system could bring a light dusting of snow. —Joseph Dames, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026

Southerners experience quick dramatic bursts of overnight freezes, ice storms, and occasional dustings of snow, and nothing soothes cold-weather boredom like a grandma and her activities. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 27 Jan. 2026

Light accumulations of a dusting to a few tenths of an inch will occur in some locations during the day. —Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2026

As a light dusting of snow fell over Minneapolis Sunday morning, community members lit candles, laid fresh flowers and stood somberly around a makeshift vigil at the site of Pretti’s death. —Michael Biesecker, Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2026

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