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Powder   /pˈaʊdər/   Listen
noun
Powder  n.  
1.
The fine particles to which any dry substance is reduced by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or into which it falls by decay; dust. "Grind their bones to powder small."
2.
An explosive mixture used in gunnery, blasting, etc.; gunpowder. See Gunpowder.
Atlas powder, Baking powder, etc. See under Atlas, Baking, etc.
Powder down (Zool.), the peculiar dust, or exfoliation, of powder-down feathers.
Powder-down feather (Zool.), one of a peculiar kind of modified feathers which sometimes form patches on certain parts of some birds. They have a greasy texture and a scaly exfoliation.
Powder-down patch (Zool.), a tuft or patch of powder-down feathers.
Powder hose, a tube of strong linen, about an inch in diameter, filled with powder and used in firing mines.
Powder hoy (Naut.), a vessel specially fitted to carry powder for the supply of war ships. They are usually painted red and carry a red flag.
Powder magazine, or Powder room. See Magazine, 2.
Powder mine, a mine exploded by gunpowder. See Mine.
Powder monkey (Naut.), a boy formerly employed on war vessels to carry powder; a powder boy.
Powder post. See Dry rot, under Dry.
Powder puff. See Puff, n.



verb
Powder  v. t.  (past & past part. powdered; pres. part. powdering)  
1.
To reduce to fine particles; to pound, grind, or rub into a powder; to comminute; to pulverize; to triturate.
2.
To sprinkle with powder, or as with powder; to be sprinkle; as, to powder the hair. "A circling zone thou seest Powdered with stars."
3.
To sprinkle with salt; to corn, as meat. (Obs.)



Powder  v. i.  
1.
To be reduced to powder; to become like powder; as, some salts powder easily.
2.
To use powder on the hair or skin; as, she paints and powders.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Powder" Quotes from Famous Books



... dose. Next morning the woman's son appeared. He thanked Mrs. Burton warmly for her attentions, said it was his duty to report that his mother was dead, and begged for a little more of the efficacious white powder, as he had a bedridden grandmother of whom he was also anxious ...
— The Life of Sir Richard Burton • Thomas Wright

... ever master of itself. The style is impressionist. The author is prone, unduly prone in my opinion, to make use of visual word-plays after the manner of Jules Renard. He is fond of "artistic writing," a typically Parisian product, a style which in ordinary times seems to "powder puff" the emotions, but which, amid the convulsions of the war, exhibits a certain heroic elegance. The narrative is terse, gloomy, stifling; but there come episodes of repose, which break its unity, and by these the tension is relieved for a moment. Few readers will fail to appreciate ...
— The Forerunners • Romain Rolland

... is always finding work to do even in the wilderness," he thought, feeling Miss Helen's pulse. With an exclamation, he hurried back to the bathroom, and among a perfect army of tooth powder and talcum powder boxes,—"enough for half a dozen people," he thought,—he spied a bottle of aromatic spirits of ammonia. He mixed a dose in the glass with ...
— The Motor Maids at Sunrise Camp • Katherine Stokes

... establishment in Northern Patagonia, I was surprised to find how little the deer cared for the noise of a gun: one day I fired ten times from within eighty yards at one animal; and it was much more startled at the ball cutting up the ground than at the report of the rifle. My powder being exhausted, I was obliged to get up (to my shame as a sportsman be it spoken, though well able to kill birds on the wing) and halloo till ...
— A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World - The Voyage Of The Beagle • Charles Darwin

... the insurgents constantly increased. The women who exercised a great influence in the reign of Louis XVI., became passionate supporters of the Americans, and made aiding them a question of honor. The simple manners of their envoys,—their hair without powder, their citizens' dress, pleased by a sort of piquant novelty. All who approached Franklin were charmed by his wit. In him people venerated the founder of the liberty of a great nation, and even grew enthusiastic in ...
— The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 2, January, 1851 • Various


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