to beat the dust out
1
4.4
- phrasal verb
- After the rain, she decided to beat the dust out of the curtains to freshen them up.
Examples
-
He beat the dust out of the old carpet before putting it back in the living room.
-
Anna Scott was beating the dust out of a rug in Mrs. Lessing's side yard.
Fiction book (2001) -
Every spring, they beat the dust out of their outdoor mats to keep the deck clean.
Synonyms
107
1.0
To clean a floor or surface by brushing away dirt with a broom
83
1.0
To remove small dry particles from a surface by wiping or brushing
69
1.7
Clean a floor or carpet with a machine that sucks up dirt
52
1.0
To remove dirt or mud from a surface
41
2.0
Clean something using water to remove dirt or stains
19
2.9
Remove dust and crumbs by shaking something
1
2.1
To clean a carpet or floor with a vacuum cleaner
1
4.3
To clean a carpet or floor using a vacuum cleaner
1
2.7
To clean dust and dirt from something using quick movements
1
2.0
To clean a rug by lifting it and beating dust and crumbs out
Antonyms
How Clean
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to remove dust or dirt by hitting or shaking' is directly compositional from 'beat' (to hit repeatedly) + 'dust' (particles) + the particle 'out' (away/remove). This follows a common English verb + object + particle pattern for removal actions and would be inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Beat the dust out comes from a simple household scene: people hung rugs or blankets and beat them with a stick so the dust would fall out. So it now means 'to remove dust or dirt by hitting or shaking something'.