dross

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 27, 2026 is:

dross • \DRAHSS\  • noun

Something referred to as "dross" is of low value or quality. Dross may also be used as a technical term to refer to unwanted material that is removed from a mineral to make it better.

// He's a skilled editor who has a talent for turning literary dross into gold.

See the entry >

Examples:

"Hollywood optimists argue that AI's greatest weakness will be originality. After all, viewers already complain of being deluged with formulaic, low-budget dross churned out by streaming platforms because an algorithm deems it popular." — Tom Leonard, The Scottish Daily Mail, 23 Feb. 2026

Did you know?

Dross has been a part of the English language since Anglo-Saxon times. It comes from the Old English word drōs, meaning "dregs," those solid materials that fall to the bottom of a container full of a liquid such as coffee or wine. While dross today is used to refer to anything of low value or quality, its earliest use is technical: dross is a metallurgy term referring to solid scum that forms on the surface of a metal when it is molten or melting—remove the dross to improve the metal. The metallurgical sense of the word is often hinted at in its general use, with dross set in contrast to gold, as when 19th century British poet Christina Rossetti wrote "Besides, those days were golden days, / Whilst these are days of dross."