Dictionary.com

exfoliate

[ eks-foh-lee-eyt ]
/ ɛksˈfoʊ liˌeɪt /
Save This Word!

verb (used with object), ex·fo·li·at·ed, ex·fo·li·at·ing.
to throw off in scales, splinters, etc.
to remove the surface of (a bone, the skin, etc.) in scales or laminae.
verb (used without object), ex·fo·li·at·ed, ex·fo·li·at·ing.
to throw off scales or flakes; peel off in thin fragments: The bark of some trees exfoliates.
Geology.
  1. to split or swell into a scaly aggregate, as certain minerals when heated.
  2. to separate into rudely concentric layers or sheets, as certain rocks during weathering.
Medicine/Medical. to separate and come off in scales, as scaling skin or any structure separating in flakes.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of exfoliate

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin exfoliātus, past participle of exfoliāre “to strip off leaves”; see origin at ex-1, foliate

OTHER WORDS FROM exfoliate

ex·fo·li·a·tive [eks-foh-lee-ey-tiv, -uh-tiv], /ɛksˈfoʊ liˌeɪ tɪv, -ə tɪv/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use exfoliate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for exfoliate

exfoliate
/ (ɛksˈfəʊlɪˌeɪt) /

verb
(tr) to wash (a part of the body) with a granular cosmetic preparation in order to remove dead cells from the skin's surface
(of bark, skin, etc) to peel off in (layers, flakes, or scales)
(intr) (of rocks or minerals) to shed the thin outermost layer because of weathering or heating
(of some minerals, esp mica) to split or cause to split into thin flakesa factory to exfoliate vermiculite

Derived forms of exfoliate

exfoliation, nounexfoliative, adjective

Word Origin for exfoliate

C17: from Late Latin exfoliāre to strip off leaves, from Latin folium leaf
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK