Crop-dusting Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Examples

crop-dusting American [krop-duhs-ting] / ˈkrɒpˌdʌs tɪŋ /

noun

1. the spraying of powdered fungicides or insecticides on crops, usually from an airplane.

crop-dusting British

noun

1. the spreading of fungicide, etc on crops in the form of dust, often from an aircraft

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What else does crop-dusting mean? In slang, crop-dusting is the act of moving while passing gas, usually silently, thereby “dusting” other people or an area with the gas.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

AeroDrone, which made crop-dusting drones prior to the war and now supplies Ukraine’s armed forces, makes unmanned aircraft that can carry up to 300 kilograms or fly up to several thousand kilometres in certain configurations.

From Reuters

Well before "Silent Spring" was published, a crop-dusting industry developed on the Great Plains in the years after World War II to apply newly commercialized pesticides.

From Salon

Supporters at a rally last month complained of a crop-dusting drone spraying urine from overhead.

From Reuters

Tucker started a crop-dusting business and began performing in air shows in 1976.

From Washington Post

His father, Joseph Biden Sr., started a crop-dusting business, and after it flopped, cleaned boilers and sold cars.

From Washington Post

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.