Definition

Noun: 1. Finely powdered gold: Gold in the form of very small particles, flakes, or grains, typically obtained by washing sand or gravel from a riverbed or placer deposit. 2. Something extremely rare and valuable: Used figuratively to describe something that is very difficult to obtain or find, and is therefore highly prized.

Usage

• The primary meaning refers to the physical material, a product of placer mining.
• The figurative meaning is common in business and general contexts to emphasize scarcity and high value.

Examples

• Literal (Physical Material):
  • The old prospector panned the river, hoping to find a speck of gold dust.
  • The safe contained small bags of gold dust and nuggets.
• Figurative (Something Rare/Valuable):
  • In this competitive industry, experienced software engineers are like gold dust.
  • Tickets for the final concert were gold dust; they sold out in minutes.

Advanced Usage

• "like gold dust": This is the standard idiomatic structure for the figurative use, meaning "extremely rare and sought-after."
  • Parking spaces in the city center are like gold dust on weekends.

Variants and Related Words

• Gold nugget (n): A small, solid lump of native gold.
• Placer gold (n): Gold that has been deposited by a river, often in the form of dust or nuggets.

Synonyms

• Literal: powdered gold, alluvial gold.
• Figurative: rarity, treasure, prize, scarce commodity.

Related Idioms

• Worth its weight in gold: Extremely valuable or useful.
  • A reliable assistant is worth their weight in gold.
  • (Note: This idiom is related in theme (high value) but uses "gold" as a general concept, not specifically "gold dust").

Noun

1. the particles and flakes (and sometimes small nuggets) of gold obtained in placer mining