to leave someone in the dust
13
6.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
dejar atrás
- So many people relied on their suite of tools, and they left all those users in the dust.
- just leave them in the dust
- gonna leave you in the dust
- leaves others in the dust
Examples
-
The rest of the media crowd was left in the dust.
Blog text (5) -
In top gear, you sure left us in the dust!
-
Because he basically just left the first kid in the dust.
-
When you first came to class, I thought, "he is gonna leave us in the dust."
-
The reason for this is to help you learn, not leave you in the dust.
Blog text (17) -
Eleven years, and you left me in the dust.
-
We were doing 95 and he left us in the dust.
-
The last time they raced, Bret left Ryan in the dust.
Fiction book (1997) -
The Apple tablet, though, left the Nexus 7 in the dust in the GPU tests.
Blog text (13) -
During the marathon, she ran so fast that she left everyone else in the dust.
Synonyms
100
4.6
To be better than another person or thing
22
3.8
Be better than someone at something
15
4.8
Do better and get more attention than others
8
4.6
To be much better than someone or something
7
6.8
To become faster, better, or larger than another
Do much better than other companies or teams
To beat others easily by being much faster or better
Antonyms
How Far Ahead
14
7.5
- Informal
13
6.0
20
4.9
100
4.6
45
3.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
leave + someone + in + the + dust
The phrase combines literal meanings—'leave' (abandon/leave behind) and 'dust' (particles kicked up by fast movement)—to evoke the image of someone being left far behind, so the metaphorical sense is predictable from the parts. Because the meaning relies on a motion/metaphor (being left amid dust) rather than a strictly compositional, literal reading, it is not fully transparent but is inferable by many learners with knowledge of the constituents.
Etymology
The phrase leave someone in the dust comes from a clear image: a fast runner kicks up a cloud of dust and the slower runners are left far behind. So, to leave someone in the dust means 'to go much faster than them' or 'to greatly surpass them'.