as in garbage
discarded or useless material
get rid of the dross before closing up the shop
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dross
What tabloid dross tends to obscure is his impressive career—first as a star dancer at the New York City Ballet, then as a roving choreographer of complex, dynamic work that is rooted in balletic conventions but not restricted by them.
—
Sara Krolewski, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
These meteors are the dross shed by the comet 169P/NEAT, whose path Earth crosses at this time each year.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 July 2025
Amongst all the dross and angst, Neil and Teddy try to talk everyone into investing in a baseball-card trading venture that might generate $500 in profits after a year.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 19 June 2025
But among the dross there gleam a few brilliant exceptions—deceptive, slippery books that defy the constraints of region and genre.
—Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The chipmaker is still raising cash and cutting costs though, as there seems to be quite a bit of dross.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
After the dross of Bruno Lage, and the chaos of Lopetegui, Gary O'Neil came in and created unity.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Could the cotton dross, for instance, enhance a food product’s nutritional profile?
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Sara Krolewski, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
These meteors are the dross shed by the comet 169P/NEAT, whose path Earth crosses at this time each year.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 July 2025
Amongst all the dross and angst, Neil and Teddy try to talk everyone into investing in a baseball-card trading venture that might generate $500 in profits after a year.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 19 June 2025
But among the dross there gleam a few brilliant exceptions—deceptive, slippery books that defy the constraints of region and genre.
—Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The chipmaker is still raising cash and cutting costs though, as there seems to be quite a bit of dross.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
After the dross of Bruno Lage, and the chaos of Lopetegui, Gary O'Neil came in and created unity.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Could the cotton dross, for instance, enhance a food product’s nutritional profile?
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dross
Noun
-
The study also noted that many of these companies guaranteed some news outlets would cover the press releases, and were essentially flooding the space with garbage crypto information dressed up to look like reliable news.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
-
If certain items can't be put in your regular garbage and recycling bins, do the right thing and run it to your local garbage disposal center instead.—
Kate McKenna,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The helicopter crashed about 50 feet from a BNSF Railway line and spread debris across the tracks, according to the railway.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Piles of human scraps offer a bottomless buffet to wildlife, and to access that bounty, animals need to be bold enough to rummage through human rubbish but not so bold as to become a threat to people.—
Marina Wang,
Scientific American,
14 Nov. 2025
-
Helga once wrestled down a drunk fisherman in the Café, a man of above-average size, and then threw him out like a piece of rubbish; Jens thus transfers most of his weight automatically to her; who is this kid, by the way?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Fox News Digital took photos of the nearby camps — which contain piles of junk, such as clothes, open containers, boxes, bags and trash.—
Michael Ruiz , Adriana James-Rodil,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Get rid of trash now, Alaniz urged, to reduce the amount that needs to be moved later.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Without Callie around, the chasm between Minnie — who holds an after-school job and eats microwaved junk at home — and Callie’s other friends feels wider than ever.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Fox News Digital took photos of the nearby camps — which contain piles of junk, such as clothes, open containers, boxes, bags and trash.—
Michael Ruiz , Adriana James-Rodil,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In reality Mars turned out to be far more hostile – an utterly dry dust ball with scarcely any atmosphere.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Go over your mattress using a vacuum with an upholstery attachment to remove dust, hair, and crumbs.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The drone completely destroyed the house in the city of Bohodukhiv, trapping the family under the rubble.—
Mariia Kashchenko,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
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The strike completely destroyed the brick house and set it on fire, trapping the family under the rubble, according to the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office.—
Illia Novikov,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dross.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dross. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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