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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

That gentle brush-off didn't keep Trump from congratulating the couple on Thursday after the birth of their youngest daughter.

From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2025

"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

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

One pocket of the market was managing to brush off the pain.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 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

The shoes are covered with dust, which I brush off.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan