powder

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powder^¹

/ˈpaʊ.də(ɹ)/ UK
/ˈpuː.dɐ/ Northumbria
/ˈpaʊ.dɚ/ US

Rhymes with -aʊdə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English poudre, pouder, pouldre, borrowed from Old French poudre, poldre, puldre, from Latin pulverem, accusative singular of Latin pulvis (“dust, powder”). Doublet of pulver. Compare pollen (“fine flour”), polverine, pulverize.

noun powders · powdre

countable, uncountable The fine particles which are the result of reducing a dry substance by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or the result of decay; dust. Let me goe grin'd their Bones to powder ſmall, […]
countable, slang, uncountable Cocaine in powder form (as opposed to crack).
countable, uncountable A mixture of fine dry, sweet-smelling particles applied to the face or other body parts, to reduce shine or to alleviate chaffing. She was redolent of violet sachet powder, and had warm, soft, white hands, but she danced divinely, moving as smoothly as the tide coming in.
countable, uncountable An explosive mixture used in gunnery, blasting, etc.; gunpowder. Tut, tut, good enough to toſſe: foode for Powder, foode for Powder: they'll fill a Pit, as well as better: tuſh man, mortall men, mortall men.
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, informal, uncountable Ellipsis of powder snow; light, dry, fluffy snow.
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of powder blue, a color.

verb powders · powdering · powdered · powdre

transitive To reduce to fine particles; to pound, grind, or rub into a powder. 25 October 2016, Bettina Elias Siegel writing in New York Times, Should the Food Industry Sneak Vegetables Into Food? In desperation, they dried fruits and vegetables in an old food dehydrator they had, then used their coffee grinder to powder the produce...
Similar: pound, grind, comminute, pulverize, triturate
transitive To sprinkle with powder, or as if with powder. to powder one's hair
intransitive To use powder on the hair or skin. 1778-1787, Frances Burney, The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay If she is grave, and reads steadily on, she dismisses me, whether I am dressed or not; but at all times she never forgets to send me away while she is powdering, with a consideration not to spoil my clothes
intransitive To turn into powder; to become powdery. Ample evidence is brought forward to show that the higher incidence of chronic interstitial nephritis in Queensland is due to lead paint on the verandahs and railings of the houses, which powders easily during the long Australian summer.
obsolete, transitive To sprinkle with salt; to corn, as meat.
intransitive, slang To depart suddenly; to "take a powder". Miss Gibson appeared in the empty hall, her eyes wide and shocked. The little man who had started all the trouble with his singing telegram had powdered.

Powder^²

proper noun Powders

A surname.

POWDER^³

proper noun

Internet, abbreviation, acronym Acronym of Protocol for Web Description Resources

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: pulverize, powderize, gunpowder, ash, dried, wildfire, cold, fan, mesh, dirt, dust, mills, keg, blow, meal, stuff

Translations

Every language

noun fine particles of any dry substance

Español	polvo
한국어	가루 garu
日本語	粉 kona
中文	粉 fěn, 粉末 fěnmò
हिन्दी	चूर्ण cūrṇ, पाउडार pāuḍār
Português	pó
Français	poudre
Deutsch	Puder, n, Pulver
Italiano	polvere
Ελληνικά	σκόνη skóni
Română	pudră, pulbere, praf
Русский	порошо́к porošók, пу́дра púdra, присы́пка prisýpka, прах prax
Tiếng Việt	bột, bụi
العربية	مَسْحُوق masḥūq, بُودْرَة būdra
עברית	אַבְקָה avka

noun cosmetic product

中文	粉 fěn
हिन्दी	पाउडर pāuḍar
Kiswahili	poda
Français	poudre
Deutsch	Puder
Italiano	cipria
Română	pudră
Русский	пу́дра púdra
Tiếng Việt	phấn
العربية	بُودْرَة būdra
עברית	פּוּדְרָה pudra

verb to reduce to fine particles

Español	reducir a polvo, pulverizar, triturar
Français	réduire en poudre, pulvériser

verb to sprinkle with powder

Español	espolvorear
Français	poudrer, pulvériser, saupoudrer
Русский	пу́дрить púdritʹ, напу́дрить napúdritʹ, припу́дрить pripúdritʹ

verb to use powder on the hair or skin

Español	ponerse polvos, empolvarse, polvearse, polvear (Mesoamerica)
Français	se poudrer, se repoudrer
Italiano	incipriarsi
Русский	пу́дриться púdritʹsja, напу́дриться napúdritʹsja, припу́дриться pripúdritʹsja

verb to be reduced to powder

Español	pulverizarse, hacerse polvo
Français	se réduire en poudre, se pulvériser

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MLA

"powder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/powder. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

powder. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/powder

Chicago

"powder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/powder.

BibTeX

@misc{powder_2026,
  title = {powder},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/powder},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}