I. peel 1 /piːl/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: pilare 'to remove the hair from' , from pilus 'hair' ]
1 . [transitive] to remove the skin from fruit or vegetables:
Peel and dice the potatoes.
2 . [intransitive] if skin, paper, or paint peels, it comes off, usually in small pieces
peel from/off
The paper was peeling from the wall.
New skin grows, and the damaged skin peels off.
3 . [intransitive] to lose an outer layer or surface:
The walls were peeling from the damp.
4 . [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to remove the outer layer from something
peel something away/off/back
Peel away the waxed paper from the bottom of the cake.
⇨ keep your eyes peeled at ↑ eye 1 (18)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ cut to divide something into two or more pieces, especially using a knife or ↑ scissors :
Do you want me to cut the cake?
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He cut off the lower branches.
▪ snip to quickly cut something, especially using ↑ scissors :
I snipped the label off.
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The hairdresser snipped away at her hair.
▪ slit to make a long narrow cut through something, especially using a knife:
He slit the envelope open with a penknife.
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She slit through the plastic covering.
▪ slash to cut something quickly and violently with a knife, making a long thin cut:
Someone had slashed the tyres on his car.
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He tried to slash his wrists.
▪ saw to cut wood, using a ↑ saw (=a tool with a row of sharp points) :
Saw the wood to the correct length.
▪ chop to cut wood, vegetables, or meat into pieces:
Bill was outside chopping up firewood with an axe.
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They chopped down the old tree.
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finely chopped onion
▪ slice to cut bread, meat, or vegetables into thin pieces:
I’ll slice the cucumber.
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Slice the bread thinly.
▪ dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
First dice the apple into cubes.
▪ grate to cut cheese or a hard vegetable by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the vegetables.
▪ peel to cut the outside part off something such as a potato or apple:
I peeled the potatoes and put them in a saucepan.
▪ carve to cut thin pieces from a large piece of meat:
Uncle Ray carved the turkey.
▪ mow to cut the grass in a garden, park etc:
A gardener was mowing the lawn.
▪ trim ( also clip ) to cut a small amount off something, especially to make it look neater:
He was trimming his beard.
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Trim the excess fat off the meat.
peel off phrasal verb
1 . peel something ↔ off to take your clothes off:
Tom peeled off his wet T-shirt and shorts.
2 . peel off $20/£50 etc informal to take a piece of paper money from the top of a pile of paper money:
Manville peeled off a 20, and pressed it into the man’s hand.
3 . to leave a moving group of vehicles, aircraft etc and go in a different direction:
Two motorcycles peeled off from the line.
II. peel 2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
the skin of some fruits and vegetables, especially the thick skin of fruits such as oranges, which you do not eat ⇨ rind , zest :
orange peel