Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sawdust

/ˈsɔːˌdʌst/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.85 in modern English

Syllables: saw-dust
IPA: /ˈsɔːˌdʌst/

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The fine particles (dust) created by sawing wood or other material.

Uncountable

noun

Food that is unpleasantly powdery and tasteless.

Derogatory; Informal; Uncountable

verb

To sprinkle with sawdust.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"I have a hard time looking at green cylinder Parmesan, the scentless sawdust inside practically mocking Giorgio Cravero's Parmigiano-Reggiano […]"
"[…] the raking out of yesterday's fire, the kindling of to-day's under the collegiate boiler, the filling of that Spartan vessel at the pump, the sweeping and sawdusting of the common room, and other such preparations."

Etymology

From saw + dust.

Usage

Inflected Forms

sawdusts (plural) sawdusts (present, singular) sawdusting (participle, present) sawdusted (participle, past) sawdusted (past)

Derived Forms

sawdustish sawdustlike sawdusty

Phrases

plait sawdust sawdust circuit sawdust joint sawdust pudding sawdust trail sea sawdust spit-and-sawdust

Frequently Paired Words

excelsior woodflour wood flour woodmeal woodshavings woodwool wood wool

Questions

How do you pronounce sawdust?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɔːˌdʌst/.
What does sawdust mean?: The fine particles (dust) created by sawing wood or other material.
Where does sawdust come from?: From saw + dust.

How to pronounce sawdust

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sawdust”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɔːˌdʌst/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sawdust”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sawdust” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.