: 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