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• peel-off
  peel-off

  adjective

  designed to be peeled off from a backing or large sheet, usually of paper, before use; readied for use by peeling off.
• peel off
  peel off

  verb

  to remove or be removed by peeling

peel-off

American  

[peel-awf, -of] / ˈpilˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

adjective

1. designed to be peeled off from a backing or large sheet, usually of paper, before use; readied for use by peeling off.

   peel-off labels.

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peel off British  

verb

1. to remove or be removed by peeling

2. slang (intr) to undress

3. (intr) (of an aircraft) to turn away as by banking, and leave a formation

4. slang to go away or cause to go away

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peel off Idioms  

1. Remove an outer layer of skin, bark, paint, or the like; also, come off in thin strips or pieces. For example, Peeling off birch bark can kill the tree , or Paint was peeling off the walls . [Late 1500s]

2. Remove or separate, as in Helen peeled off her gloves and got to work , or Al peeled off a ten-dollar bill and gave it to the driver . [First half of 1900s]

3. Also, peel away . Depart from a group, as in Ruth peeled off from the pack of runners and went down a back road . This expression originated in air force jargon during World War II and was used for an airplane or pilot that left flight formation, a sight that suggested the peeling of skin from a banana.

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Etymology

Origin of peel-off

First recorded in 1935–40; adj. use of verb phrase peel off

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peel-off peel off

The team say that the pH-sensitive adhesive system could serve as a novel, and recyclable, middle ground between structural adhesives with fixed chemical bonds and peel-off adhesive films that bond using physical interactions.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2023

You can also have a peel-off backing to make your photo print a sticker.

From The Verge ● Jul. 31, 2022

But we all carry a stash of peel-off faces in our pockets, one for every occasion, just like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2011

But that defiant-sounding message is printed on a peel-off sticker.

From Time Magazine Archive

Well," said he, after a comfortable pull at an expensive-looking cigar, "sixteen seventy-five is quite a lively little peel-off for a dinner for only two.

From Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise by David Graham Phillips

Ki and Park peel off, and I continue to walk south toward Tsim Sha Tsui, A long slog, enough to digest and think.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

The $14.7-million repainting of the Reflecting Pool became particularly controversial last month after algae overtook the renovated pool and the new paint appeared to peel off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

But soon after completion of the work the coating has begun to peel off and algae turned the pool's water a mucky green -- setbacks the president blamed on vandals, without providing evidence.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

The bull case is that her unorthodox style can attract those who don’t vote regularly and peel off minority voters from Ms. Spanberger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

The piece of black tape that covered her perpetually illuminated “check engine” light starting to peel off.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

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