n. 25B6; verb
I polished his shoes : SHINE, wax, buff, rub up/down; gloss, burnish; varnish, oil, glaze, lacquer, japan, shellac.
polish up your essay : PERFECT, refine, improve, hone, enhance; brush up, revise, edit, correct, rewrite, go over, touch up; informal clean up.
25B6; noun
furniture polish : WAX, glaze, varnish; lacquer, japan, shellac.
a good surface polish : SHINE, gloss, lustre, sheen, sparkle, patina, finish.
his polish made him stand out : SOPHISTICATION, refinement, urbanity, suaveness, elegance, style, grace, finesse, cultivation, civility, gentility, breeding, courtesy, (good) manners; informal class.
25A0; polish something off (informal)
he polished off an apple pie : EAT, finish, consume, devour, guzzle, wolf down, down, bolt; drink up, drain, quaff, gulp (down); informal binge on, stuff oneself with, get outside of, murder, put away, scoff, shovel down, pig out on, sink, swill, knock back; Brit. informal shift, gollop; N. Amer. informal scarf (down/up), snarf (down/up).
the enemy tried to polish him off : DESTROY, finish off, despatch, do away with, eliminate, kill, liquidate; informal bump off, knock off, do in, take out, dispose of; N. Amer. informal rub out.
I'll polish off the last few pages : COMPLETE, finish, deal with, accomplish, discharge, do; end, conclude, close, finalize, round off, wind up; informal wrap up, sew up.