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dust off

B1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To clean the dust off something, or to start using something again that you haven't used in a long time.

Literal meaning: To wipe or brush dust 'off' a surface — fully transparent.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To clean dust or dirt from the surface of an object.

"He dusted off the old trophy and placed it back on the shelf."

Grammar: separable
2 B1 idiomatic neutral

To take something out of storage or neglect and bring it back into active use, often after a long period.

"She dusted off her French after twenty years and signed up for an advanced class."

Grammar: separable
3 B2 idiomatic informal

To recover from a setback and prepare to try again.

"You just have to dust yourself off and get back in the game after a defeat like that."

"Beyoncé, 'Me, Myself and I': 'Dust yourself off and try again.'"

— Commonly associated with Aaliyah, 'Try Again' (2000); also quoted widely in motivational contexts.
Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Very common in both literal and figurative senses. The figurative sense ('dust off your old skills') is widely used in journalism and everyday speech. Common in both British and American English. Often used with 'old', 'forgotten', 'ancient' to describe something being revived.

Commonly used with

skills recipe manuscript old plan guitar resume diploma

Forms

Base
dust off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
dusts off
he/she/it
Past simple
dusted off
yesterday
Past participle
dusted off
have + pp
-ing form
dusting off
continuous

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