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
-
According to the Wall Street Journal, less than the burning of wood and garbage.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
1 Feb. 2026
-
In Churchill, the trash sites have all been bear-proofed (enclosed so the animals can’t graze among the garbage), but not so in Arviat, where Inuit enforcers show up in their buggies to honk loudly and chase the bears away from open-air landfills.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In addition to clearing debris, Guard officials said, troops have assisted more than 200 people stranded in vehicles and homes and given nearly 300 emergency and healthcare workers rides to work.—
Sophie Bates,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Already too much of Havana – a once beautiful city now littered with debris from buildings collapsing under years of neglect – looks like a war zone.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 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
-
That includes chores such as picking up trash, vacuuming, or stirring a pot of food, though the robot has also been seen jogging and dancing.—
Andrea Guzmán,
Austin American Statesman,
30 Jan. 2026
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Fruit flies will still find rotten food thrown in the trash and drink cans that still contain liquid, so keep a lid on the bins for extra protection.—
Emma Ashe,
Southern Living,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Most of that toxic junk was never found, Fernando added.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
24 Jan. 2026
-
There’s so much junk in Eggleston’s pictures.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Integrating the robot into construction workflows complements DEWALT’s existing data center toolkit, which includes technologies designed to reduce vibration and dust while improving operator control, alongside its ICC anchoring solutions.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Feb. 2026
-
If your first pass actually closes the piles, then dirt and dust get trapped.—
Nafeesah Allen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Gaza Health Ministry currently reports 71,667 deaths, including more than 450 since the October 2025 ceasefire, though Israeli officials said the estimate does not include bodies believed to be buried under rubble.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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Some people were trapped under the rubble as Israeli strikes targeted shelters, tents for displaced people, residential apartments and a police station, the spokesperson, Basal, said.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dross.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dross. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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