VocabauraVOCABAURA

dross

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Waste or impure matter.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

draws
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdɹɔs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Waste or impure matter.

  2. A waste product from working with metal.

  3. figurative

    Worthless or trivial matter.

  4. The scum formed by oxidation at the surface of molten metals

  5. The impurities in metal.

verb

  1. transitive

    To remove dross from.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “dross”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

mere drossearthly drossbecome drossdross formation

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “dross” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.