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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

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

But since its installation, the coating has begun to peel off and algae has turned the water green -- a persistent problem over the years.

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026

Raman would have to peel off labor from Bass, who has counted on and rewarded their support from Sacramento to Washington to City Hall for over two decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 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

I open one up and peel off thin slices to eat.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh