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peel

[ peel ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

to strip (something) of its skin, rind, bark, etc.:
to peel an orange.
to strip (the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.) from something:
to peel paint from a car.
Croquet. to cause (another player's ball) to go through a wicket.

verb (used without object)

(of skin, bark, paint, etc.) to come off; become separated.
to lose the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.
Informal. to undress.
Metallurgy. (of a malleable iron casting) to lose, or tend to lose, the outer layer.

noun

the skin or rind of a fruit, vegetable, etc.
Metallurgy. the presence of a brittle outer layer on a malleable iron casting.

verb phrase

1. to remove (the skin, bark, etc.) or be removed:
  The old skin peeled off.
2. Aeronautics. to leave a flying formation of aircraft with a banking turn, usually from one end of an echelon.
3. Informal. to turn off or leave (a road):
  We peeled off the highway onto a dirt road.
4. to remove (clothing) in a swift upward or downward motion.

peel

[ peel ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a shovellike implement for putting bread, pies, etc., into the oven or taking them out.
Metallurgy. a long, shovellike iron tool for charging an open-hearth furnace.

peel

or pele

[ peel ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a small fortified tower for residence or for use during an attack, common in the border counties of England and Scotland in the 16th century.

Peel

⁴

[ peel ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Sir Robert, 1788–1850, British political leader: founder of the London constabulary; prime minister 1834–35; 1841–46.
a seaport on W Isle of Man: castle; resort.
a river in N Yukon Territory and NW Northwest Territories, Canada, flowing E and N to the Mackenzie River. 425 miles (684 km) long.

Peel

/ �辱ː�� /

noun

PeelJohn19392004MBritishFILMS AND TV: broadcaster John, real name John Robert Parker Ravenscroft . 1939–2004, British broadcaster; presented his influential Radio 1 music programme (1967–2004) and Radio 4's Home Truths (1998–2004)
PeelSir Robert17881850MBritishPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: prime minister Sir Robert. 1788–1850, British statesman; Conservative prime minister (1834–35; 1841–46). As Home Secretary (1828–30) he founded the Metropolitan Police and in his second ministry carried through a series of free-trade budgets culminating in the repeal of the Corn Laws (1846), which split the Tory party

peel

/ �辱ː�� /

verb

tr to remove (the skin, rind, outer covering, etc) of (a fruit, egg, etc)
intr (of paint, etc) to be removed from a surface, esp through weathering
intr (of a surface) to lose its outer covering of paint, etc esp through weathering
intr (of a person or part of the body) to shed skin in flakes or (of skin) to be shed in flakes, esp as a result of sunburn
croquet to put (another player's ball) through a hoop or hoops
keep one's eyes peeled or keep one's eyes skinned
to watch vigilantly

noun

the skin or rind of a fruit, etc

peel

/ �辱ː�� /

noun

a long-handled shovel used by bakers for moving bread, in an oven

peel

⁴

/ �辱ː�� /

noun

(in Britain) a fortified tower of the 16th century on the borders between England and Scotland, built to withstand raids

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Derived Forms

ˈ�ʱ��ٱ�, noun

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Other Word Forms

��a·�� adjective
un·��a·�� adjective
�ܲ�·�� adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of peel¹

First recorded before 1100; Middle English pilen, pillen, pilien “to strip off, remove,” Old English pilian “to strip, skin” (unrecorded), or Old French pillier, peler, from Latin �辱�� “to remove hair, pluck, scalp,” derivative of pilus “h��”; pill ²

Origin of peel²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pele, pale, pile “baker's shovel,” from Old French pele, pale, from Latin �� “long-handled spade, shoulder blade”; palette

Origin of peel³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pel, pele, peil “defensive palisade, fortress,” from Anglo-French pel, pele “stockade” and Middle French pel “stake,” from Latin ��ܲ� “stake, post”; pale ², pole ¹

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Word History and Origins

Origin of peel¹

Old English pilian to strip off the outer layer, from Latin �辱�� to make bald, from pilus a hair

Origin of peel²

C14 pele, from Old French, from Latin �� spade, from pangere to drive in; see palette

Origin of peel³

C14 (fence made of stakes): from Old French piel stake, from Latin ��ܲ�; see pale ², paling

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

keep one's eyes peeled, Informal. to watch closely or carefully; be alert:
Keep your eyes peeled for a gas station.

More idioms and phrases containing peel

In addition to the idiom beginning with peel , also see keep one's eyes open (peeled) .

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Synonym Study

Peel, pare agree in meaning to remove the skin or rind from something. Peel means to pull or strip off the natural external covering or protection of something: to peel an orange, a potato. Pare is used of trimming off chips, flakes, or superficial parts from something, as well as of cutting off the skin or rind: to pare the nails; to pare a potato.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In “Sherlock & Daughter,” Thewlis’ cranky, clipped performance spells out why so few venture to peel back the tweedy front he places between himself and everyone else.

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Even Stella Parks, who makes sweetened carrot peels into delicate “carrot roses.”

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I peeled off my dress and had a solo late-night swim.

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Picking one, she cut the peel with a knife and lifted a juicy half to her mouth.

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The league is expected to open the deal up in its seventh year, potentially allowing streaming suitors to further drive up the price or peel off some of the games in the broadcast package.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Peekskill peel-and-stick

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