dross

American  

[draws, dros] / drɔs, drɒs /

noun

1. waste matter; refuse.

2. Metallurgy. a waste product taken off molten metal during smelting, essentially metallic in character.

3. British. coal of little value.

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dross British  

/ drɒs /

noun

1. the scum formed, usually by oxidation, on the surfaces of molten metals

2. worthless matter; waste

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Other Word Forms

• drossiness noun
• drossy adjective

Etymology

Origin of dross

before 1050; Middle English dros ( se ), Old English drōs; cognate with Middle Dutch droes dregs; compare Middle English drōsen, Old English drōsna; cognate with Middle High German truosen husks

Example Sentences

Last time around, when Gerrard took over from the hapless Pedro Caixinha, he could throw out the dross and start again, but it cost a lot of cash and it plunged Rangers into financial challenges.

From BBC • Oct. 12, 2025

All was constant churn and movement; there was considerable dross, but also genuine, spontaneous creativity.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025

Buddy you're the boss man, dross man, Take another loss, there's no positive gloss Sunday, You got staff to debase, you're in last place, Gotta hire lawyers to help with your case.

From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2022

Crane’s work was, considering his youth and all the dross in it, unfinished.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2021

I fancied that a malevolent Rumpelstiltskin crept into my room at night and undid my best work, turning the gold of my efforts into pathetic dross on a wheel perversely spinning backward.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly