to peel

Examples

• All

• You'll have to peel it loose.

  Dragonslayer (1981)

• So now it's probably going to peel in like small little patches.

• I think it just might peel up now.

• So I'm going to like try and peel this up on the side.

• My forehead has kind of started to peel like right here.

• It takes a while to to peel away those layers.

• The paint on the trailer had peeled and faded to gray in many spots.

  Fiction book (1992)

• I heard a, a scientist on NPR say California is peeling away like old wallpaper.

  The Life of Chuck (2025)

• Here and there, the plaster was peeling, and the balcony railings were rusty.

  Fiction book (1993)

• The old wallpaper started to peel away, revealing the bare plaster underneath.

Synonyms

F

to flake

vsto peel

12 2.6

To come off in thin flat pieces or make something lose thin flat pieces

comes off as thin pieces but also can mean causing pieces

P

to peel off

vsto peel

9 3.9

To come away in strips because of age or damage

comes off mainly in thin pieces rather than long strips

E

to exfoliate

vsto peel

8 6.2

To come off in thin layers, like peeling bark

comes off in thin pieces generally, not only in biological contexts

F

to flake off

vsto peel

3 3.9

To come off a surface in small thin pieces

comes off in thin pieces rather than larger chunks

Antonyms

A

to attach

459 2.5

To join or fasten one thing to another so they stay together

A

to adhere

17 5.2

To stick firmly to a surface such as glass or plastic

Idioms

P

to peel the onion

• Informal

1 7.6

Carefully look at a problem step by step to find its real cause

Phrasal Verbs

P

to peel back

11 3.4

Remove a cover or layer by pulling it away slowly

P

to peel off

9 3.9

To come away in strips because of age or damage

P

to peel off

8 3.4

To take off the outer layer by pulling it

P

to peel off

3 4.1

To leave a group and move away in a different direction

Compounds

B

banana peel

7 1.2

The skin of a banana that is slippery and can make someone fall

O

orange peel

5 1.4

The outer skin of an orange that adds flavor or becomes candy

L

lemon peel

1 1.0

Yellow outer skin of a lemon that you grate or cut for cooking

C

candied citrus peel

3.5

Strips of citrus peel cooked in sugar until sweet and soft

L

lemon peel

1.9

Thin strips of lemon skin cooked in sugar and used to decorate desserts

G

grapefruit peel

2.7

Strips of grapefruit skin become a sweet when cooked in sugar and used as a decoration

O

orange peel fungus

9.0

A bright orange cup-shaped growth on the ground that looks like an orange peel

P

potato peel

1.7

A thin fried strip of potato skin eaten as a snack

How Loose

to fall off

117 2.3

to peel

56 3.0

to loosen

15 2.8

Surface Forms

Etymology