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peel

verb
/piːl/

Etymology

From Middle English pelen, from Old English pilian and Old French peler, pellier; both from Latin pilō, pilāre (“to remove hair from, depilate”), from pilus (“hair”). Doublet of pill.

  1. derived from pilo
  2. derived from peler
  3. inherited from pilian
  4. inherited from pelen

Definitions

  1. To remove the skin or outer covering of.

    • I sat by my sister's bed, peeling oranges for her.
    • The skillful shepherd peeled me certain wands.

  2. To remove something from the outer or top layer of.

    • I peeled (the skin from) a banana and ate it hungrily.
    • We peeled the old wallpaper off in strips where it was hanging loose.

  3. To become detached, come away, especially in flakes or strips

    To become detached, come away, especially in flakes or strips; to shed skin in such a way.

    • I had been out in the sun too long, and my nose was starting to peel.
  4. ›+ 20 more definitions

    1. To remove one's clothing.

      • The children peeled by the side of the lake and jumped in.

    2. To move, separate (off or away).

      • The scrum-half peeled off and made for the touchlines.

    3. The skin or outer layer of a fruit, vegetable, etc.

    4. The action of peeling away from a formation.

    5. A cosmetic preparation designed to remove dead skin or to exfoliate.

    6. A stake.

    7. A fence made of stakes

      A fence made of stakes; a stockade.

    8. A small tower, fort, or castle

      A small tower, fort, or castle; a keep.

    9. A shovel or similar instrument, now especially a pole with a flat disc at the end used…

      A shovel or similar instrument, now especially a pole with a flat disc at the end used for removing pizza or loaves of bread from a baker's oven.

      • Near-synonym: pizza paddle

    10. A T-shaped implement used by printers and bookbinders for hanging wet sheets of paper on…

      A T-shaped implement used by printers and bookbinders for hanging wet sheets of paper on lines or poles to dry.

    11. The blade of an oar.

    12. An equal or match

      An equal or match; a draw.

    13. A takeout which removes a stone from play as well as the delivered stone.

    14. To play a peel shot.

    15. To send through a hoop (of a ball other than one's own).

    16. To plunder

      To plunder; to pillage, rob.

      • But govern ill the nations under yoke, / Peeling their provinces.

    17. Alternative form of peal (“a small or young salmon”).

    18. Misspelling of peal (“to sound loudly”).

      • 1901 January 1, "Twentieth Century's Triumphant Entry", The New York Times, page 1, The lights flashed, the crowds sang,... bells peeled, bombs thundered,... and the new Century made its triumphant entry.
      • As the tiny Virgin... approaches one of the barrio churches, bells peel vigorously, a brass band launches into a fast-paced tune, and large rockets zoom... .

    19. A surname.

      • Robert Peel, former British Prime Minister.

    20. A placename

      A placename:

The neighborhood

Derived

keep one's eyeballs peeled, keep one's eyes peeled, overpeel, peelability, peelable, peel-and-seal, peel and stick, peel away, peel back the onion, peeler, peelie, peeling skin syndrome, peel me a grape, peel off, peelout, peel out, peel rubber, peel the onion, peely, repeel, there's more than one way to peel an orange, unpeel, banana peel, chemical peel, onion peel, orange peel, orange-peel fungus, peelless, peel strength, peel tab, pizza peel, salmon peel, peel-house, peelhouse, peel-tower

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for peel. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA