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

Six Flags Magic Mountain will twinkle with two million Christmas lights strung between 19 roller coasters this holiday season as Santa Claus returns to dance the night away to rockabilly music under a dusting of faux snow. —Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 24 Nov. 2025

Washing clothes, dusting surfaces, spraying down furniture with linen spray, and disinfecting your bathrooms all do a world of good for lifting the air in your home. —Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 23 Nov. 2025

Plus, the vacuum has a carbon fiber soft dusting brush and a mattress tool for home cleaning. —PC Magazine, 21 Nov. 2025

The Danish-made felt boots with rubber soles have proven to be the ideal inside-outside shoe, with ankle-high coverage that adds just enough protection to tromp around through a light dusting of snow or stroll along a woodsy trail. —Lily Ritter, Outside, 18 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