as in garbage
discarded or useless material
get rid of the dross before closing up the shop
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Recent Examples of dross
Those, plus the endless Chinese dross, truly burned investors.
—
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Feb. 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
But failure—the end point of the story of generational decay, of gold exchanged for dross—is not inevitable.
—Fergus McIntosh, The New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2025
Mixed in with the everyday dross are a few sparkly flecks of strangeness, curious anomalies that might be clues to a larger mystery.
—Lev Grossman, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024
But indie rocker Rosie Tucker’s Utopia Now! finds beauty in the dross of late capitalism.
—Nate Sloan, Vulture, 10 May 2024
Maybe our own era will look better in retrospect, when all the dross is cleared away.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Oct. 2023
Suffice it to say that this book contains both wheat and chaff, both gold and dross.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 9 Oct. 2023
There’s a lot of dross, to be sure, but there’s also so much that’s good.
—Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Aug. 2023
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Feb. 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
But failure—the end point of the story of generational decay, of gold exchanged for dross—is not inevitable.
—Fergus McIntosh, The New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2025
Mixed in with the everyday dross are a few sparkly flecks of strangeness, curious anomalies that might be clues to a larger mystery.
—Lev Grossman, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024
But indie rocker Rosie Tucker’s Utopia Now! finds beauty in the dross of late capitalism.
—Nate Sloan, Vulture, 10 May 2024
Maybe our own era will look better in retrospect, when all the dross is cleared away.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Oct. 2023
Suffice it to say that this book contains both wheat and chaff, both gold and dross.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 9 Oct. 2023
There’s a lot of dross, to be sure, but there’s also so much that’s good.
—Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dross
Noun
-
Lira, remembering the garbage, quickly takes out the trash.—
Cindy Carcamo,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2025
-
Leave the garbage can open and place it in the sun to fully dry before closing it or putting a garbage bag in it.—
Kamron Sanders,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Dazed individuals are seen walking among debris in a hallway, with smoke in the air and power knocked out.—
Abeer Salman,
CNN,
23 Mar. 2025
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The mayor reported falling debris and fires in three districts of the capital.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The site was first excavated beginning in 1995, and in 2018, scientists began collecting, analyzing and radiocarbon dating fossils unearthed from El Gigante rubbish piles.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Last year, a dumpster diver in Hudson, New York, stumbled upon an extraordinary find: An 18th-century pen-and-ink sketch by English portraitist George Romney was hidden amid the rubbish.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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That beat the alternative of having people walk up and down the trails with heavy bags of trash, said Steve Lozano, deputy chief of the Fire-Rescue Department.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2025
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Videos of the scene show the parking lot riddled with massive piles of trash and one of the campers engulfed in flames.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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There’s a surprising amount of debris still visible along the road, in yards, under decks, against fences and up in trees, but also a river full of massive amounts of unseen junk, some of which residents fear could pose serious hazards — say, to a falling water-skier.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Feb. 2025
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This comes as Fitch Ratings on Wednesday downgraded the Japanese automaker’s credit rating to BBB- from BB+, which also means junk status. —Lee Ying Shan 23 Hours Ago S&P 500 closes slightly above the flatline The S&P 500 closed Wednesday’s trading session barely in the green.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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As some know, director/screenwriter Elijah Bynum’s harrowing feature has been collecting dust on the shelf for two years due mostly to Majors’ problems, including his conviction of misdemeanor assaults against Grace Jabbari.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
20 Mar. 2025
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In asthma, the immune system overreacts to harmless environmental elements like pollen, mold, or dust, causing airway inflammation.—
Carisa Brewster,
Verywell Health,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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At least two of the dead were construction workers who were killed by falling rubble or debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters.—
David Rising,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2025
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So far, federal cleanup crews have cleared ash and rubble from more than 860 properties, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dross.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dross. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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