Pronunciation

/piːl/

Definitions

Noun

• A plant’s outer layer: The thin, usually brownish skin that covers and protects many fruits and vegetables when they are not ripe, such as potatoes and apples. Example: “After harvesting, the farmer peeled the potatoes before cooking them.”
• A strip or layer: A thin piece removed from something, often with a tool like a knife, especially from fruit or vegetables. Example: “She peeled off a layer of paint from the old wall.”

Verb

• To remove the outer covering: To take off the skin, bark, or outer layer of a fruit or vegetable. Example: “I’m going to peel the bananas for the smoothie.”
• To strip away: To remove a layer, usually metaphorically, such as ideas or emotions. Example: “The therapist helped her peel back the layers of her past trauma.”

Transitive verb

• To expose or uncover: To reveal what is underneath, as in a secret or hidden aspect. Example: “As he peeled back the curtain, the truth was finally revealed.”

Phrases

• “Peel an onion” is a common idiom for shedding tears while cutting an onion.
• “Peel the labels off” means to remove stickers or adhesive strips.
• “Peel away” can be used to describe gradually revealing or uncovering something, like misconceptions or illusions.

Example Sentences

• Noun: “The apple was so hard, I couldn’t even peel it.”
• Verb: “She peeled the wallpaper off the old room, revealing the fresh paint beneath.”
• Transitive verb: “His words slowly peeled away her doubts about the project.”

Synonyms

• Remove
• Expose
• Uncover
• Strip
• Scrape
• Lop (for fruit)
• Scalpel (figurative sense)