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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

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

“Go fly a kite” means anything but the brush-off in the new TV movie “High Flying Romance.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2021

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

Then they brush off their hands and walk away, leaving the fires to burn behind them.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 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

Her stepfather, Peter, said they believed staff "would just brush off Molly's concerns" about her health and "not take them seriously".

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 20, 2026

We brush off the dirt and head toward the street.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon