powdering

powdering — verb

1. to put a fine, dry cosmetic powder onto your face or another part of your skin,

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to put a fine, dry cosmetic powder onto your face or another part of your skin, especially to reduce shine or to set makeup.

Example

After applying foundation, Élise gently powdered her nose and cheeks with a soft brush.

powder + nose / cheeks — cosmetic application pattern

The makeup artist quickly powdered the model's forehead before the photo shoot began.

powder + person's body part in a beauty context

Common collocations
  • powder one's nose
  • powder one's face
  • powder one's cheeks
Synonyms
  • dust

    more general — can apply any fine substance (flour, sugar, powder) to a surface

  • sprinkle

    implies scattering small particles, often used with food or cooking contexts

Grammar Patterns

powder + object (face/nose/cheeks)

powder + oneself/yourself

Usage Note

Commonly used with body parts (nose, face, cheeks, forehead) or reflexively (powder oneself). In modern English, the sense is closely tied to cosmetic or baby-powder contexts.

Common Mistakes

She powdered rice on her face.
She dusted rice powder on her face.
'powder' as a verb means to apply cosmetic powder, not any powdered substance onto the body.
He powdered the sugar on the cake.
He dusted the sugar on the cake.
For food, use 'dust' or 'sprinkle' instead of 'powder'.

2. to break a solid material into very fine particles, or for a solid material to b

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to break a solid material into very fine particles, or for a solid material to break apart into such particles — for example, crushing dried herbs into a fine dust or grinding dried clay until it falls apart.

Example

The pharmacist powdered the dried roots with a mortar and pestle for the herbal medicine.

transitive: powder + object with a tool

Old chalk left in the sun will eventually powder and blow away.

intransitive: something powders (becomes powder) naturally

Common collocations
  • powder dried herbs
  • powder charcoal
  • powder clay
Synonyms
  • grind

    stronger emphasis on friction and mechanical reduction; more common for coffee, spices, grains

  • crush

    implies applying pressure to break something; the result may not be as fine as powder

  • pulverize

    more formal and intensive; suggests reducing to dust completely

Grammar Patterns

powder + object (substance/material)

something powders (intransitive — becomes powder)

Usage Note

The intransitive sense (something powders naturally) is less common and typically describes gradual deterioration rather than intentional crushing. The transitive sense usually involves deliberate action using tools such as a mortar, grinder, or mill.

Common Mistakes

I powdered the coffee beans for my espresso.
I ground the coffee beans for my espresso.
'Grind' is the standard verb for coffee; 'powder' sounds unnatural.
The crackers powdered in my bag.
The crackers crumbled in my bag.
'Powder' implies becoming a fine dust, not just breaking into pieces.

Word family

  • powder
    nounA2
  • powdery
    adjectiveB2
  • powdered
    adjectiveB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

'Grind' focuses on friction between two hard surfaces — you grind coffee beans or spices in a mill or mortar. 'Crush' uses pressure or impact to break something into pieces, but the result is not necessarily as fine as powder — you can crush a cracker into crumbs. 'Pulverize' is the most emphatic: it suggests reducing something completely to dust or fine powder, often through force or machinery. 'Powder' sits between crush and pulverize — it means to produce a fine, dust-like result but does not specify the method. For example: you grind whole peppercorns in a grinder; you crush garlic with the flat side of a knife; you powder dried herbs with a mortar and pestle for a fine dust; and a demolition machine could pulverize a concrete wall.

grind ↗crush ↗pulverize

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • powder and paint
  • powder one's nose

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

'Powder' entered English from Old French 'poudre', which came from Latin 'pulvis' meaning 'dust'. The verb form developed in the 16th century. The cosmetic sense (apply powder to the skin) and the crushing sense (reduce to powder) both emerged around the same time, since the same fine particles could be cosmetic dust or ground-up material. This dual path — one through beauty routines, the other through grinding and processing — has stayed with the word into modern English.