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• brush-off
  brush-off

  noun

  a refusal to talk or listen to someone; abrupt or final dismissal or rebuff.
• brush off
  brush off

  verb

  to dismiss and ignore (a person), esp curtly

brush-off

American  

[bruhsh-awf, -of] / ˈbrʌʃˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

1. a refusal to talk or listen to someone; abrupt or final dismissal or rebuff.

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brush off British  

verb

1. to dismiss and ignore (a person), esp curtly

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noun

1. an abrupt dismissal or rejection

brush off Idioms  

1. Dismiss or rebuff, as in Roberta brushed off the poor reviews with a shrug, or You can't brush off a boyfriend and expect him to do you a favor. This expression, transferring sweeping off crumbs to a curt dismissal, was first recorded about 1820. However, it became common usage only in the 1930s. Also see give someone the air (brush off).

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Etymology

Origin of brush-off

1945–50, noun use of verb phrase brush off

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brush-off brush off

"I was told that things would be looked into. It was very vague. It was a brush-off."

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2024

“You’re not on the list,” he was told twice by a Troubadour doorman, and given the brush-off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

We don’t know what happened exactly after this brush-off, but it’s clear that Josh didn’t give up because Nyswanderweg—Marie Nyswander Way—exists in Hamburg today.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 1, 2023

Border experts were stunned by the president’s brush-off.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 6, 2022

Saying good-bye at the end of a visit, Craig would give my dad a final, concerned look and pose the usual question about his health, only to be given the merry brush-off of “I’m fine.”

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

But he ultimately answers to the country’s autocratic supreme leader, who can afford to brush off at least some amount of public unhappiness.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

Earlier in the day, Wall Street appeared to brush off hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation data and comments from the president about the possible strikes.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

Financial planners who brush off crypto and reject it outright risk alienating these potential clients.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 20, 2026

Blane might have to brush off Duckie’s occasional curtness, but that’s the extent of his woes.

From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026

So I brush off his mother’s concern, tell her it’s no big deal, then help her take the dishes out of the dishwasher.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan