to flake off

Examples

• All

• I really want to prep her skin properly so none of the foundation flakes off or slides.

  PatrickStarrr

• But I have one question: have you had any trouble with the paint flaking off your curtain rod?

  Blog text (22)

• Built nicely, but the paint is flaking off the wood.

  Waiting on Mary (2016)

• Some of the paste on one of his hands was already flaking off.

  Fiction book (1990)

• Bits of lacquer had flaked off while we were working.

  Fiction book (1997)

• New plaster in the upper galleries is flaking off.

  Academic text (2003)

• Her eyes are open, she's breathing, but her skin is flaking off and her little arms and her little legs are as hard as stone.

  Fiction book (1992)

• The cover had a gold curlicue border, cheaply done, flaking off.

  Fiction book (1993)

• It does not move, it doesn't flake off, it doesn't smear off.

• The paint on the old fence started to flake off after years of rain and sun exposure.

Synonyms

F

to fall off

vsto flake off

117 2.3

Separate from something by breaking or dropping

describes thin small pieces detaching rather than whole parts dropping

P

to peel

vsto flake off

56 3.0

Come off in thin pieces because of age or damage

is used broadly for any thin pieces separating regardless of cause

B

to break off

vsto flake off

28 2.8

To make a piece come away from something by hitting or bending it

describes thin small pieces coming away rather than larger detachments

C

to chip away

vsto flake off

24 4.2

To make something smaller or weaker by removing small parts slowly

is a single shedding event rather than a slow removal process

F

to flake

vsto flake off

12 2.6

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

is the phrasal form that stresses pieces moving entirely away

P

to peel off

vsto flake off

9 3.9

To come away in strips because of age or damage

focuses more on thin small pieces rather than long strips

E

to exfoliate

vsto flake off

8 6.2

To come off in thin layers, like peeling bark

is a more general, nontechnical term for small surface shedding

R

to rub off

vsto flake off

5 3.4

Come off a surface when something moves against it

occurs without friction, as thin pieces separate naturally

C

to chip off

vsto flake off

3 3.2

Break a small piece from something by hitting or pressing it

involves many tiny pieces separating from a surface rather than one fragment

Antonyms

A

to adhere

17 5.2

To stick firmly to a surface such as glass or plastic

How Much

to crumble

177 3.4

to peel off

8 3.4

to flake off

3 3.9

to chip off

3 3.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology