sawdust

Everyday

Sawdust is the tiny pieces of wood that fall off when wood is cut with a saw. tree →

In the lessons

Design and technology: sawing wood makes sawdust; wear goggles and a mask. Everyday life: sawdust is used as bedding for hamsters and guinea pigs, to soak up spills, and to make chipboard. Science: sawdust burns easily — a fire risk. Phrases: covered in sawdust, a pile of sawdust, sawdust bedding.

Examples

• The workshop floor was covered in sawdust. tree →
• We put clean sawdust in the hamster's cage. tree →
• Sawdust flew everywhere when Dad cut the plank. tree →
• Wear goggles to keep sawdust out of your eyes. tree →
• The carpenter swept up the sawdust. tree →
• Chipboard is made from glued sawdust and wood chips. tree →
• Then, going to a chest of drawers, he took out a pretty heart, made entirely of silk and stuffed with sawdust. tree →

Note

Uncountable: «some sawdust», «a pile of sawdust», not «a sawdust». Compound of saw + dust. Sweep it up: fine sawdust is a fire and breathing hazard.