peel

¹ American  

[peel] / pil /

verb (used with object)

1. to strip (something) of its skin, rind, bark, etc..

   to peel an orange.

2. to strip (the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.) from something.

   to peel paint from a car.

3. Croquet. to cause (another player's ball) to go through a wicket.

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verb (used without object)

1. (of skin, bark, paint, etc.) to come off; become separated.

2. to lose the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.

3. Informal. to undress.

4. Metallurgy. (of a malleable iron casting) to lose, or tend to lose, the outer layer.

noun

1. the skin or rind of a fruit, vegetable, etc.

2. Metallurgy. the presence of a brittle outer layer on a malleable iron casting.

verb phrase

1. peel off

   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.

idioms

1. keep one's eyes peeled, to watch closely or carefully; be alert.

   Keep your eyes peeled for a gas station.

peel ² American  

[peel] / pil /

noun

1. a shovellike implement for putting bread, pies, etc., into the oven or taking them out.

2. Metallurgy. a long, shovellike iron tool for charging an open-hearth furnace.

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peel ³ American  

[peel] / pil /

Or pele

noun

1. 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.

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Peel ⁴ American  

[peel] / pil /

noun

1. Sir Robert, 1788–1850, British political leader: founder of the London constabulary; prime minister 1834–35; 1841–46.

2. a seaport on W Isle of Man: castle; resort.

3. a river in N Yukon Territory and NW Northwest Territories, Canada, flowing E and N to the Mackenzie River. 425 miles (684 km) long.

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peel ¹ British  

/ piːl /

verb

1. (tr) to remove (the skin, rind, outer covering, etc) of (a fruit, egg, etc)

2. (intr) (of paint, etc) to be removed from a surface, esp through weathering

3. (intr) (of a surface) to lose its outer covering of paint, etc esp through weathering

4. (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

5. croquet to put (another player's ball) through a hoop or hoops

6. to watch vigilantly

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noun

1. the skin or rind of a fruit, etc

Peel ² British  

/ piːl /

noun

1. 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)

2. 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

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peel ³ British  

/ piːl /

noun

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

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peel ⁴ British  

/ piːl /

noun

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

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peel More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing peel

• keep one's eyes open (peeled)

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Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• Peelite noun
• peelable adjective
• unpeelable adjective
• unpeeled adjective

Etymology

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 pilāre “to remove hair, pluck, scalp,” derivative of pilus “hair”; 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 pāla “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 pālus “stake, post”; pale ², pole ¹

Example Sentences

Seth Rogen and “The Studio” writers had their eyes peeled for new material at Sunday’s ceremony and in the days leading up to it.

From Los Angeles Times

But the key to capitalizing on sector rotation is to keep your eyes peeled for where the big money is flowing.

From The Wall Street Journal

Massachusetts faces competition from other states and China, which are eager to peel away talent and investment.

From The Wall Street Journal

Turning the odds and ends of vegetables—peels, stems, bruised bits—into a fragrant stock that makes even weeknight soup feel luxurious.

From Salon

The stock has slipped on a banana peel this year, losing half of its value.

From Barron's