dustman
dustman Lexical Profile
dustman Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British A person employed to collect household refuse from dustbins and load it into a collection vehicle.
"The dustman arrived early on Tuesday morning to empty the bins along our street."
A folklore figure who brings sleep to children by sprinkling magical dust or sand into their eyes.
"In the bedtime story, the gentle dustman visited the nursery to help the restless children fall asleep."
Word Nuance & Usage
Primarily used in British English, "dustman" is increasingly replaced in official or gender-neutral contexts by terms such as "refuse collector" or "bin worker", while "garbage man" or "sanitation worker" is standard in American English.
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the early 18th century as a compound of "dust" (in the older British sense of household ashes and domestic refuse) and "man".