powder

(pou'dər)
n.

1. A substance consisting of ground, pulverized, or otherwise finely dispersed solid particles.
2. Any of various preparations in the form of powder, as certain cosmetics and medicines.
3. An explosive mixture, such as gunpowder.
4. Light dry snow.

v., -dered, -der·ing, -ders.

v.tr.

1. To reduce to powder; pulverize.
2. To dust or cover with or as if with powder.
3. Slang. To defeat handily or decisively.

v.intr.

1. To become pulverized; turn into powder.
2. To use powder as a cosmetic.

idioms:

keep (one's) powder dry

1. To be ready for a challenge with little warning.

take a powder

1. To make a quick departure; run away.

[Middle English poudre, from Old French, from Latin pulvis, pulver-.]

powderer pow'der·er n.

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verb

1. To break up into tiny particles: bray, crush, granulate, grind, mill, pulverize, triturate. See help/harm/harmless.
2. To scatter or release in drops or small particles: besprinkle, dust, sprinkle. See strike/miss.

n

Definition: fine, loose grains from a solid
Antonyms: solid

v

Definition: crush into fine grains; sprinkle fine grains
Antonyms: solidify

n. short for gunpowder.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

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IN BRIEF: A dry substance in the form of fine particles like dust, made by crushing or grinding.

Global poverty is a powder keg that could be ignited by our indifference. — Bill Clinton

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noun
noun, mainly US

to take a powder To depart hastily, to abscond. (1916 —) .

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The pod of the cacao plant contains large seeds or beans. The beans contain a bitter tasting nib, the seed coat (tegument), and the germ. To create cocoa powder, the nibs go through many stages. These include fermentation, sorting, roasting, cooling, crack grinding, and production. The production stage can include the processing into cocoa powder, chocolate, instant cocoa products, and many more. First the nibs are kept at a moist warm environment to aid in the fermentation. This type of fermentation reduces some of the bitter alkaloids, proteins, and other precursors, and breaks proteins and carbohydrates down into simpler amino acids, sugars, etc. Three microorganisms are involved with this stage: yeasts, lactic acid-producing bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria. Pulp sugars are metabolized into ethanol. Then a culture of acetobacter sp. dominates the flora turning the alcohol into acetic acid. The excess of acetic acid kills the bean. Enzymes then turn anthocyanins (glycosidases) into reducing sugars. Invertases convert sucrose to fructose and glucose, and proteases convert storage proteins into peptides. Free amino acids are formed, all of which may provide starting materials for the Maillard browning reaction. The beans are then sorted, dried, and roasted. The roasting process brings on the characteristic flavor, and Maillard-based compounds are then formed. The nibs are then cooled and crack ground. Crack grinding is the process of sending cocoa between rollers at high temperatures. Temperatures here are between 170-190°F. After the crack grinding, the final mass is then pressed. This is called the press cake. The press cake is then separated from the fat (cocoa butter) and ground again. The percent fat left in the ground powder is from 10 to 25%. This powder is cocoa powder. Cocoa powder, as such, is not very soluble in water. A process of solubilizing the cocoa powder was developed by C.J. Van Houten (Netherlands) in 1828. The process was novel in that it used alkali. The process was called the Dutching process, and the resultant cocoa is called Dutched cocoa. The Dutching process develops a more bitter, darker chocolate. The first chocolate bar was developed in 1847 mixing chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, and sugar. Chocolate liquor or chocolate is produced in the following manner: Cocoa powder is first pressed to remove the cocoa butter. Chocolate liquor is then made by adding sugar and other ingredients. Cocoa butter, additional cocoa powder, and sometimes other ingredients can be added as well according to the FDA and the standards of identity for cocoa products. (See CFR Title 27, Chocolate Definition and Standard of Identity, FDA Regulations.) This mixture is then heated and constantly agitated until smooth, and then cooled. This process is called conching. Cocoa butter goes through a number of different phases in the conching process. These phase changes are represented by a complex melting point curve. The conching process enables the crystals of the cocoa butter to change into a stable fatty or microcrystalline phase through this process. When the chocolate is old or undergoes a cool thaw, whitening occurs on the surface. This is called crazing, and represents a separation of the cocoa fat that has gone through an undesirable phase transition. Cocoa has been studied as a chemical production factory power-house. One ounce of cocoa (30 grams) contains 617 mg of theobromine, 72 mg of caffeine, and many other alkaloids including one similar to estrogen. Perhaps the study where some women said they would rather have chocolate than sex (done in 1995 and 1996) is based on some kind of hormonal response or substitution. See Chocolate, Chart 129.

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An aggregation of particles obtained by grinding or triturating a solid.

• dusting p. — a fine powder used as a talc substitute.
• glove p. — sterile and special grind for powdering surgical gloves.

For a list of words related to powder, see:

• Grooming Aids and Processes - powder: fine grains of soothing colorant applied to skin, often made from talc
• Firearm Parts, Accessories, and Processes - powder: gunpowder
• Skiing
• Violent Actions - powder: beat into small pieces; pulverize

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See words rhyming with "powder."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Powder.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - pulver, pudder, krudt, kraft
v. tr. - pudre, pulverisere, bestrø
v. intr. - pudre sig, pulveriseres

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    holde krudtet tørt
• powder blue    dueblå
• powder keg    krudttønde
• powder one's nose    pudre sig
• powder puff    dame-
• powder room    dametoilet
• take a powder    sniffe

Nederlands (Dutch)
poeder, kruit, poeier, pulver, bepoederen, verpulveren, bestrooien

Français (French)
n. - (gén, Cosmét) poudre, poudreuse (neige), lessive
v. tr. - (Cosmét) poudrer, saupoudrer, réduire (qch) en poudre
v. intr. - se pulvériser, se réduire en poudre, se poudrer

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    être paré
• powder blue    bleu pastel
• powder keg    (Mil) baril de poudre, (fig) poudrière
• powder one's nose    se refaire une beauté
• powder puff    houppette
• powder room    toilettes pour dames
• take a powder    se droguer

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pulver, Puder
v. - pudern, pulverisieren

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    sein Pulver trocken halten
• powder blue    Himmelblau
• powder keg    Pulverfaß
• powder one's nose    sich die Nase pudern
• powder puff    Puderquaste
• powder room    Damentoilette
• take a powder    abhauen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σκόνη, πούδρα, σκονάκι (φάρμακο), πυρίτιδα, μπαρούτι
v. - κονιορτοποιώ/-ούμαι, τρίβω σε σκόνη, πουδράρω, βάζω πούδρα

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    (μτφ.) επαγρυπνώ, βρίσκομαι σε επιφυλακή
• powder blue    ανοιχτό μπλε
• powder keg    μπαρουτοβάρελο, εκρηκτική κατάσταση
• powder one's nose    (λέω ότι πάω στην τουαλέτα δήθεν για να) πουδράρω τη μύτη μου
• powder puff    πονπόν πουδραρίσματος
• powder room    τουαλέτα γυναικών
• take a powder    αναχωρώ ταχύτατα (κν. γίνομαι μπουχός)

Italiano (Italian)
polvere, cipria, spolverare, incipriare

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    tenersi pronto a tutto
• powder blue    cobalto
• powder keg    barile di polvere
• powder one's nose    andare in bagno, incipriarsi
• powder puff    piumino per la cipria
• powder room    santabarbara
• take a powder    svignarsela

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pó (m)
v. - pulverizar, empoar

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    prevenir-se de prejuízos
• powder blue    azul-esmalte
• powder keg    barril de pólvora, prestes a explodir
• powder one's nose    empoar o nariz
• powder puff    esponja para empoar
• powder room    toucador
• take a powder    usar medicamento em pó

Русский (Russian)
порошок, порох, пудра, толочь, пудриться

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    быть начеку
• powder blue    зеленовато-голубой
• powder keg    пороховница, пороховая бочка, опасное положение
• powder one's nose    сходить в уборную
• powder puff    пуховка
• powder room    женский туалет
• take a powder    унести ноги

Español (Spanish)
n. - polvo, pólvora, polvos
v. tr. - empolvar, reducir a polvo, pulverizar
v. intr. - empolvarse, pulverizarse

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    no gastar la pólvora en salvas, obrar con acierto
• powder blue    azul pastel
• powder keg    barril de pólvora, polvorín
• powder one's nose    retocarse el maquillaje, ir al servicio
• powder puff    borla para empolvarse, cisne
• powder room    aseos, servicios
• take a powder    poner pies en polvorosa

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - pulver, stoft, krut, puder, kläm, fart
v. - pulvrisera, pudra, beströ, rusa iväg

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
粉, 火药, 粉末, 搽粉于, 使成粉末, 撒粉, 搽粉, 变成粉末

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    做好准备
• powder blue    浅灰蓝色
• powder keg    小型火药桶
• powder one's nose    在鼻子上搽粉, 上厕所
• powder puff    粉扑
• powder room    化妆室
• take a powder    匆忙离去, 逃跑, 消失

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 粉, 火藥, 粉末
v. tr. - 搽粉於, 使成粉末, 撒粉
v. intr. - 搽粉, 變成粉末

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    做好準備
• powder blue    淺灰藍色
• powder keg    小型火藥桶
• powder one's nose    在鼻子上搽粉, 上廁所
• powder puff    粉撲
• powder room    化妝室
• take a powder    匆忙離去, 逃跑, 消失

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 가루, 분말
v. tr. - 가루로 하다, ~에(소금, 양념 등)을 뿌리다
v. intr. - 가루가 되다, 분칠하다

idioms:

• keep one's powder dry    만일에 대비하다
• take a powder    도망치다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 粉, 散薬, パウダー, 火薬, 力, 粉薬
v. - 粉にする, 激しく攻撃する, 振りかける, …におしろいを付ける, 粉になる, おしろいを付ける

idioms:

• baking powder    ベーキングパウダー
• itching powder    むずがゆくさせる物や言葉
• powder blue    粉末花青紺, 淡青色
• powder keg    火薬樽, 爆発しがちなもの
• powder one's nose    手洗いに立つ
• powder puff    おしろいばけ, タカサゴマル
• powder room    化粧室
• take a powder    ずらかる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ذرور, مسحوق (فعل) يرش, يتذرر, يسحن, يسحق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אבקה, פודרה, אבק-שריפה‬
v. tr. - ‮שחק לאבק, פידר, איבק‬
v. intr. - ‮התפדר/ה (לצורכי יופי)‬

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