any solid substance reduced to a state of fine, loose particles by crushing, grinding, disintegration, etc.
a preparation in this form, as gunpowder or face powder.
Also powder snow. Skiing. loose, usually fresh snow that is not granular, wet, or packed.
verb (used with object)
to reduce to powder; pulverize.
to sprinkle or cover with powder: She powdered the cookies with confectioners' sugar.
to apply powder to (the face, skin, etc.) as a cosmetic.
to sprinkle or strew as if with powder: A light snowfall powdered the landscape.
to ornament in this fashion, as with small objects scattered over a surface: a dress lightly powdered with sequins.
verb (used without object)
to use powder as a cosmetic.
to become pulverized.
Origin of powder
1
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English poudre<Old French <Latin pulver- (stem of pulvis) dust, powder; akin to pollen; (v.) Middle English poudren<Old French poudrer, derivative of poudre
Here, it’s in the form of a lollipop with an accompanying chile powder dip.
The Ultimate Guide to Mexican Snacks|Bill Esparza|September 17, 2020|Eater
EAA powder may therefore be effective because it delivers your body a leucine boost, not because it has all the essential types of amino acids in it.
BCAA supplements can enhance your workout, but should you take them?|Amy Schellenbaum|September 10, 2020|Popular Science
One of the most ubiquitous powders aspiring athletes turn to are BCAAs, or branched-chain amino acids.
BCAA supplements can enhance your workout, but should you take them?|Amy Schellenbaum|September 10, 2020|Popular Science
Keeping it all organized and neat can be as challenging as whipping up the perfect meringue, however, as anyone with a cabinet full of loose sprinkles and randomly, half-filled tins of baking powder can attest.
The best organization systems for every baker|PopSci Commerce Team|July 7, 2020|Popular Science
Other versions are coated in marzipan, or dusted in powder sugar.
One Cake to Rule Them All: How Stollen Stole Our Hearts|Molly Hannon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This powder can be shipped anywhere and then reconstituted—just add water, as if it were instant coffee.
Powdered Measles Vaccine Could Be Huge for Developing World|Kent Sepkowitz|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They say that the Israelis framed him in order to light the powder keg of religious war over the al-Aqsa compound.
In Jerusalem Home Demolitions, the Biblical Justice of Revenge|Creede Newton|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Inside the wax floored examining room, I sat up on the powder blue table with my shirt off.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even Congress passed a law reducing the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences.
Why Isn’t Prison Justice on the Ballot This Tuesday?|Inimai Chettiar, Abigail Finkelman|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or, if you will, like so many ant-hills of powder, they all stand before me; and I their match.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville
Exhaust a weighed sample (in powder) with ether, and evaporate by the heat of a hot-water bath.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
And if the powder had lost its effect on me the horn itself hadn't.
Georgina's Service Stars|Annie Fellows Johnston
I will tell you a secret, Chevalier; my only reason for capitulating was because I was short of powder.
Court Beauties of Old Whitehall|W. R. H. Trowbridge
Its powder is a light red, and emits an argillaceous odor when wetted.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820|Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
British Dictionary definitions for powder
powder
/ (ˈpaʊdə) /
noun
a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles
any of various preparations in this form, such as gunpowder, face powder, or soap powder
fresh loose snow, esp when considered as skiing terrain
take a powderUS and Canadianslangto run away or disappear
verb
to turn into powder; pulverize
(tr)to cover or sprinkle with or as if with powder
Derived forms of powder
powderer, nounpowdery, adjective
Word Origin for powder
C13: from Old French poldre, from Latin pulvis dust