noun
dross
DRAHS/drɑːs/
Waste or impurities regarded as worthless.
The worker skims the dross from the molten metal.
Etymology
Old English dros named the scum separated from metal during smelting. This unwanted by-product became an image for any worthless remainder left when the valuable material is removed.
In context
the alumina will get caught up in the dross the crud left behind so we got to get the most amount of that aluminum off the dross so we can save as much
More examples
- A layer of dross forms as the metal melts.
- The editor cuts the dross and keeps the strongest passages.
- Finding useful advice means sifting through plenty of dross.
Forms
dross