noun

• 1A long-handled brush with a head made of feathers, used for dusting.

  ‘One of the most useful things in my cupboards (again from my mum) is a feather duster - they're great for getting to those hard-to-reach places, such as the curtain rail.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Later, when the plants are taller and stronger, you can brush them lightly with a feather duster to continue the encouragement of sturdy stems.’
  • ‘They'd cleared everything out pretty well; the only things they'd missed were a feather duster in the utility cupboard and a trowel stuck through the rafters in the shed.’
  • ‘To this day she can't hold a feather duster without trembling.’
  • ‘Manchester's Lord Mayor grabbed her feather duster to announce the city's biggest-ever spring clean.’
  • ‘She had a feather duster in hand, and began to dust the furniture and objects in the room.’
  • ‘But it needs more than a feather duster to keep this public collection in peak condition.’
  • ‘And if you could get him to nip round with a feather duster, I would be most grateful.’
  • ‘It was a short, fat bird with tiny, yellow legs and a small tail that stood up like a feather duster.’
  • ‘Goaded past the point of losing his temper, the normally placid Josh picks up a feather duster and hits his thirteen-year-old brother, Theo, hard on the arm.’
  • ‘Margaret began flitting around the room with a feather duster, sweeping the mantle and the tables.’
  • ‘A plump woman in a black dress with a white bonnet and apron had come out of the parlor, a feather duster in her hand.’
  • ‘She found a feather duster, chained by cobwebs itself, and resolved to tidy it the next day.’
  • ‘Chloe stood up and grabbed a feather duster from a nearby closet.’
  • ‘She had to run a feather duster over each one before stacking the books on them.’
  • ‘Alison left the woman in her stunned state, feather duster still in hand.’

• 2

  (also feather duster worm)

  US

  another term for fan worm

  ‘But he cherishes the occasional feather duster, a small tube worm that opens from live rock or other housing into a red and white umbrella of feathery tentacles, sifting the water for planktonic food.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Christmas tree worms and feather dusters sprouted from many coral heads.’
  • ‘We swam in the cool waters through thousands of shimmering silverlings, counted multicoloured Christmas tree plumes, encountered sea fans, feather dusters, and the islands' oldest brain coral in the crystal-clear waters.’
  • ‘I have a feather duster worm which has been doing very well for the last two months since I bought it.’
  • ‘One of my favorite things to show someone new to the marine environment is the beautiful crown of a feather duster worm.’