powder

verb pow·der \ ˈpau̇-dər \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: powder in a Sentence

Definition of powder

powdered; powdering play \ˈpau̇-d(ə-)riŋ\

transitive verb

1 : to sprinkle or cover with or as if with powder

2 : to reduce or convert to powder

3 : to hit very hard

intransitive verb

1 : to become powder

2 : to apply cosmetic powder

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powderer

play \ˈpau̇-dər-ər\ noun

See powder defined for English-language learners

Examples of powder in a Sentence

She powdered her face and put on lipstick.
you have to powder the antibiotic tablet and mix it with food

Recent Examples of powder from the Web

Image On a recent April morning, the developer Mark Gordon stood in a just-finished guest room in his Moxy Downtown hotel in Lower Manhattan, plaster dust powdering his black pants.

— jane margolies, New York Times, "Drawing a Younger Crowd to Lower Manhattan," 22 May 2018
Then, Cheng followed up the cream shadow with the Chanel Ombre Première Longwear Powder Eyeshadow In Poudre d’Or, a gold powdered shadow.

— devon abelman, Allure, "Yara Shahidi's Makeup Artist Reveals Her Body-Highlighting Secrets for the Met Gala 2018," 7 May 2018
Other seasonings used to in this dish are powdered rosemary and porcini powder.

— joanne kempinger demski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Spice savvy: These 7 trendy seasonings will add pizzazz to your cooking," 27 Feb. 2018
That year, more than 13 inches powdered the ground.

— San Antonio Express-News, "Snow and then: Photos from South Texas' memorable snowfalls," 9 Dec. 2017
Delish reports that a German consumer group found that the quantities of powdered skimmed milk in Nutella had increased from 7.5% to 8.7%, while the sugar content rose from 55.9% to 56.3%.

— meghan overdeep, Southern Living, "Alert! Nutella Changed Its Recipe," 8 Nov. 2017
Will China’s toilet revolution flush away the country’s reputation as an outmoded place to powder your nose?

— erin blakemore, Smithsonian, "China Will Transform 100,000 Toilets for the Sake of Tourism," 10 Jan. 2017
Then on fourth down, the Giants finally ran the ball up the middle – and went backward, with Orleans Darkwa getting his behind powdered by the entire Eagles defense.

— bob ford, Philly.com, "Doug Pederson calls a head-scratcher | Bob Ford," 24 Sep. 2017
Once remains are exhumed, scientists will take teeth or bone samples and powder them down to extract DNA, which will then be compared to a database of DNA from living relatives of the missing.

— stephanie farr, Philly.com, "Vietnam making slow progress in finding lost soldiers," 20 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'powder.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of powder

14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

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powder Synonyms

Synonyms

atomize, beat, comminute, crush, disintegrate, grind, mill, pound, pulverize;

Related Words

grate;

crumble, crunch;

break, bust, dash, fracture, fragment;

shatter, smash, splinter;

powder

noun, often attributive

Definition of powder

1 : matter in a finely divided state : particulate matter

2 a : a preparation in the form of fine particles especially for medicinal or cosmetic use

b : fine dry light snow

3 : any of various solid explosives used chiefly in gunnery and blasting

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powderless

play \ˈpau̇-dər-ləs\ adjective

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powderlike

play \ˈpau̇-dər-ˌlīk\ adjective

See powder defined for English-language learners

See powder defined for kids

Examples of powder in a Sentence

The powder is made from the roots of the plant.
Mix together the different powders.
She crushed the peppercorns into a fine powder.
We're running low on baby powder and diapers.
We woke this morning to several inches of fresh powder on the ground.

Recent Examples of powder from the Web

Villagers tend to buy washing powder, accessories for their phones, maternity goods and fresh food.

— The Economist, "The world's first commercial drone-delivery service takes flight," 9 June 2018
The company’s Peaceful Planet Toddler Supreme, a rice protein powder for young children, contained lead levels greater than 13 times the allowable level, Becerra said.

— ethan millman, latimes.com, "California prosecutors accuse 2 manufacturers of selling toddler formulas with high levels of lead," 8 June 2018
The internet is teeming with similar offers from websites that sell weight-loss pills and protein powders, as well as payday lenders and companies that pay cash for gold.

— NBC News, "Vaping essays: e-cigarette sellers offering scholarships," 8 June 2018
The internet is teeming with similar offers from websites that sell weight-loss pills and protein powders, as well as payday lenders and companies that pay cash for gold.

— Washington Post, "E-cigarette sellers turn to scholarships to promote brands," 8 June 2018
Cleansers mix iZO’s superfood powders — which include algae, seaweeds, seeds and more — into juice or water for up to seven days.

— julie mazziotta, PEOPLE.com, "This Is the Juice Cleanse that Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest Are Doing: 'It's a Restart'," 6 June 2018
Another favorite is the fish tikka, pieces of Atlantic salmon marinated in mustard powder, ginger-garlic paste and cooked in tandoor.

— jane donahue, Naperville Sun, "Indian Harvest brings savory cuisine to the suburbs," 6 June 2018
Revlon's ColorStay Brow Kit is a great option for brow powder, along with the Sephora Collection PRO Small Stippling Brush.

— marci robin, Allure, "Meghan Markle's Freckles Are Inspiring People to Tattoo Their Faces," 5 June 2018
Place in bowl and mix with the paprika, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and cinnamon.

— susan selasky, Detroit Free Press, "How to make Livernois Tap's shawarma chicken wings," 1 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of powder

Middle English poudre, from Anglo-French pudre, podre, from Latin pulver-, pulvis dust; probably akin to Sanskrit palāva chaff

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Powder

geographical name Pow·der \ ˈpau̇-dər \

Definition of Powder

1 river 150 miles (241 kilometers) long in eastern Oregon flowing into the Snake River

2 river 375 miles (604 kilometers) long in northern Wyoming and southeastern Montana flowing north into the Yellowstone River

POWDER Defined for English Language Learners

powder

verb

Definition of powder for English Language Learners

: to put powder on (your face or body)

powder

noun

Definition of powder for English Language Learners

: a dry substance made up of very tiny pieces of something
: a very fine, dry substance that is put on your body or face especially to make it dry or less shiny
: snow that is very light and dry