I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
clean/polish your shoes
▪
We used to clean our shoes every evening before we went to bed.
floor polish
▪
The room smelt of floor polish.
French polish
nail polish
▪
pink nail polish
paint/polish/varnish your nails (= to put coloured liquid on your nails )
▪
Don't paint short nails in dark colours.
polished
▪
I didn't want to spill anything on the polished surface of the table.
polish/shine to a high gloss
▪
The silverware had been polished to a high gloss.
shoe polish
the British/French/Polish etc army
▪
a soldier in the Spanish army
wax/polish the floor
▪
I washed and waxed the kitchen floor.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
highly
▪
Background graphics are highly polished and the sound compliments it well.
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Across the room, the glow from the fireplace flickered on the highly polished floor.
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Even the wires seemed to be highly polished .
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In front of his highly polished desk are two leather armchairs facing a matching leather couch.
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The original finish of highly polished golden brass soon deteriorated, but initially at least shone a bright yellow.
off
▪
But she made light work of polishing off the shopping at a supermarket near her West London home.
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Quinn ate with crude intensity, polishing off the meal in what seemed a matter of seconds.
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When I get home Mrs Marsh has polished off half the biscuits in the tin and the teapot is all but empty.
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After that we polish off the last of the half-gallon of whiskey.
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The boys declared it a feast compared with the week before and polished off their chocolate as a bonus.
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Before polishing off the last of the trail mix, Gray realized he was wrong.
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This invigorating start to the day ended with a cold shower, and by 0730 a substantial breakfast had been polished off .
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Night after night, she sat at her desk, hoping to polish off some quick, noncommittal little speech.
up
▪
Read in studio A sixteen year old busker from Oxford has polished up his act ... and won a national jazz competition.
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They polished up the opera house, and every summer stars from the Metropolitan came out and performed.
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Much later the method of dialectic clash was polished up by Hegel and adopted by Marx.
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The market has since done much to polish up its self-regulation, though it is still far from squeaky-clean.
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Prices perk up , trading volume revives and stories of return from the grave are polished up.
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But, like showbusiness, it may take a year before EuroDisney polishes up its act.
■ NOUN
floor
▪
After she had scrubbed the floor , she polished the furniture.
▪
The floor was polished to the consistency of Telly Savalas' head.
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The floor was sanded and polished .
furniture
▪
After she had scrubbed the floor, she polished the furniture .
▪
After she had polished the furniture , she cleaned the windows.
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Before she cleaned the windows, she polished the furniture .
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Before she polished the furniture , she scrubbed the floor.
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She could not sit down to talk, but kept moving around the room polishing doors and furniture although they already sparkled.
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Jeremiah was wearing his pin-stripes with the seat shiny from decades of polishing the council furniture with his bottom.
glass
▪
Theodora remained standing, polishing her reading glasses vigorously.
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Clinging to very fine cracks or imperfections is also out: geckos can cope with polished glass .
▪
A barman was polishing glasses with his back to Rain.
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He polished his pebble glasses on a handkerchief, a little diversion before he embarked on the full story.
nail
▪
He was a man of high good humor, well-pressed double-breasted suits, manicured nails , and glossily polished shoes.
▪
It was clean and the nails were polished a deep brown.
shoe
▪
When she arrived home she had found Larry polishing his shoes at the table.
▪
He soon got to know the young kids who eked a living by carrying luggage, polishing shoes or running errands.
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And she polished his shoes for him, whenever she got the chance.
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I helped her prepare for the date, pressing her nicest blouse, lending her my best necklace and polishing her shoes .
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I studied him in fascination as he polished his shoes each night after supper and inspected his suits for wrinkles and stains.
▪
I polished my shoes and no mistake that morning.
▪
He was an elderly man dressed in an ancient broadcloth suit and polished shoes .
surface
▪
The work can then be cleaned, polished bright and the surface protected with a final coating of clear lacquer.
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We make sure our staff is trained to polish every surface and clean every corner.
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All our staff receive training on effective ways to polish every surface and clean every corner.
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The sunlight glinted and sparkled from the polished metal surfaces of the slowly revolving, three-hundred-yard-diameter disk.
▪
In some places, friction along a fault plane has produced polished and striated surfaces .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
spit and polish
▪
A little spit and polish, and a pair of determined, busy hands.
▪
After the inevitable nil-nil draw it's back to the management section for some between-match spit and polish.
▪
She and Ellen between them had turned out the dining-room, giving it extra spit and polish because of Christmas.
the Polish
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
a polished wooden floor
▪
Edward's essay is good, but he needs to polish it a little bit.
▪
He polished the piano until the wood shone.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
After she had polished the furniture, she cleaned the windows.
▪
Bill was leaning on his cab, spitting at the wing mirror and half-heartedly polishing it with his sleeve.
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Light polishes itself under the bushel.
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Sheila and I were responsible for polishing the brass and crystal chandelier that hung over the dining-room table.
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That it proves an undistinguished production can be polished in the right hands is illuminating.
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There was no pearl inside, though, nothing nearly so hard and polished.
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Tiny, polished black pollen beetles crawled over her hand: she had become part of their landscape.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
final
▪
Each gets a final polish with his cloth, and he grins into them as if they were mirrors.
▪
The main purpose of these pads is to give the water a final polish and continuous use is not really obligatory.
▪
The greenkeepers were already sweeping the dew off the greens with elongated poles - the final polish to an immaculately groomed course.
■ NOUN
boot
▪
He had cropped his hair and put boot polish on his face.
▪
I say surprising, because some are as digestible as boot polish while others are simply unwatchable.
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We cut a mask for my face out of a balaclava and made it black with boot polish .
▪
He must have put some Cherry Blossom boot polish on it.
floor
▪
Why should anyone discuss floor polish ?
furniture
▪
Exotic scent mingled with the more religious smells of incense, furniture polish and veneration.
▪
I tried using some spray furniture polish , rubbed well in, on the areas that were jamming.
▪
Is it mothballs or furniture polish or tobacco or vapour rub?
▪
Rainbow may smell furniture polish , baby powder, simmering borscht.
nail
▪
A muscle near her right cheekbone fluttered at erratic intervals, and the nail polish was chipped.
▪
To remove melted plastic from an appliance, unplug appliance and dab off spot with nail polish remover.
▪
That nail polish was a positive match, and she's got some explaining to do.
▪
Parma and Jaivi, Hatti and Latchi called me over to their bed to try out the nail polishes .
▪
As well as keeping some nail polish remover at home, make sure you carry some handy remover of emergencies.
▪
Did I happen to have any nail polish with me?
▪
Even fashion products such as nail polish or lipstick, which do have regular changes of colour, can benefit greatly.
▪
Men are wearing nail polish , did you know?
shoe
▪
Missing were expensive black leather boots, the white shoe polish , a jumbo jar of Nivea.
▪
His face was a light brown, shoe polish mixed with wax.
▪
They also won't pay if you get any shoe polish on their socks.
▪
She smelled of leather and shoe polish .
▪
To age the look of the gourds, she buffs them with shoe polish .
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
A good polish now and then will keep the table looking new.
▪
furniture polish
▪
shoe polish
▪
What this dance troupe lacks in polish , they make up for in enthusiasm.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A good polish reviver can be made by mixing equal parts of raw linseed oil, substitute turps and vinegar.
▪
Did I happen to have any nail polish with me?
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His face was a light brown, shoe polish mixed with wax.
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I wanted it to shine the windows and polish the tarnished feelings like a good spring house-cleaning.
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Not that any of this family into which Cara had chosen to marry had much polish .
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The polish on her fingernails neatly complemented the shade.
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The shoes I had on were white plastic trainers in need of polish .
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They were beginning to achieve astonishing economic success; and only their children would acquire a certain polish .