Etymology
Origin of powdery
First recorded in 1400–50, powdery is from the late Middle English word powdry. See powder 1, -y 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Other signs are subtle: ground covered with powdery insulation from the lines.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025
When tested on wheat, these compounds helped protect against fungal infections such as powdery mildew.
From Science Daily • Oct. 12, 2025
This is stored inside a pill that can pass through the stomach unscathed and reach the intestines where it dissolves to release its poopy powdery payload.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025
By the end of twenty-four hours, we had inches and inches of powdery, white snow — somewhere around 8”-10” all along the Coast from Texas to Florida.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2025
They crossed a platform covered with powdery dry elephant dung, their feet kicking up puffs of dust as they advanced.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
