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Glite Dictionary
to brush back

to brush back

3 2.6
Move hair away from the face using your hand or a comb
  • phrasal verb
  • /brʌʃ bæk/
translation icon : peinar hacia atrás
  • Susan leaned down and gently brushed back her hair to see better.
  • brushed back hair
  • brushed back from her face
  • brushed back her bangs

T rings on everything, bracelets change and his hair will brush back.

Examples

  • Filled with sympathy, Willen reached to brush back a curl of his companion's milk-white hair.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Susan put the box down on the table and brushed back her hair.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • I felt you when you touched my head and brushed back my hair.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "Her truth bites into me as she brushes back her dark hair and smiles."

    Fiction book (1995)

  • His hair was dark, straight, and brushed back in almost a Jhereg cut.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The hair falls again, and this time Curtis brushes it back.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The tall woman brushed back her hair, raised her glass, and said, "Marble toff."

    Fiction book (2000)

  • But she leaned, thin and new, over him in the bed and brushed his hair back tenderly.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Greg brushed his hair back in annoyance as a breeze flipped it over his eyes.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Rachel disengaged from Topsy's embrace and brushed back a lock of her perfect, chocolate-brown hair.

    Fiction book (1995)

Synonyms

to brush
vsto brush back
242 1.0

To move a brush across something to clean or paint it

moves hair away from the face specifically to clear vision or tidy appearance

Antonyms

to mess up
  • Informal
52 3.0

To make something untidy, dirty, or not in the right place

How Forceful

to yank
196 4.1
to pull back
162 3.4
to brush back
3 2.6
to tuck
325 2.0

Surface Forms

brush back infinitive
brushed back past
brushed back past participle
brushing back present participle
brushes back third person singular

Morphology

brush + back

The meaning 'to move hair away from the face by brushing it toward the rear' is directly composed from 'brush' (to move with a brushing action) + 'back' (toward the rear), so a learner who knows both words can infer the action. This is a literal, motion-based phrasal verb following common verb+particle composition patterns found across languages, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Brush back comes from the simple action of using a brush or your hand to push hair back off your forehead or out of your eyes. So, it means 'to move hair away from the face'.