peel

IPA/piːl/
KK[pˈil]IPA/piːl/

peel — verb

  • peelpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • peelshe / she / it
  • peeledpast simple
  • peeling-ing form

1. to pull or cut away the outside skin of fruit or vegetables so the part inside c

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to pull or cut away the outside skin of fruit or vegetables so the part inside can be eaten or cooked.

Example

Lina peeled three apples for the pie before her guests arrived.

peel + fruit for cooking

Please peel the potatoes and leave them in cold water.

peel + vegetable

Common collocations
  • peel an apple
  • peel potatoes
  • peel an orange
  • peel a mango
Synonyms
  • pare

    usually means cutting off a thin layer with a knife, often carefully

  • skin

    common for potatoes, tomatoes, and also animals; sounds more practical

  • strip

    suggests pulling the outer part away, often in longer pieces

Grammar Patterns

peel + fruit/vegetable

peel + something + for cooking

Usage Note

Object is usually a fruit or vegetable. Unlike sense 2, this sense is about preparing food, not removing paint, paper, or another covering from a surface.

Common Mistakes

Please shell these potatoes before dinner.
Please peel these potatoes before dinner.
use 'peel' for the skin of vegetables; 'shell' is for eggs, nuts, or peas.

2. to come away from a surface in thin pieces, or to lift that top layer off slowly

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveC2
Definition

to come away from a surface in thin pieces, or to lift that top layer off slowly with your hands.

Example

The old blue paint began to peel from the kitchen door.

intransitive: layer peels from a surface

We peeled the wet wallpaper off the bedroom wall by hand.

transitive: peel + covering + off

Common collocations
  • paint peels
  • peel the wallpaper off
  • peel away
  • peel back the tape
Synonyms
  • flake off

    focuses on small pieces coming away by themselves

  • strip off

    often suggests removing the whole layer more forcefully

  • come away

    neutral phrase for a loose layer separating from a surface

Antonyms
  • stick

    to stay fixed to a surface instead of coming away

  • adhere

    formal word meaning to remain attached

Grammar Patterns

[layer] + peels from + surface

peel + covering + off/away/back

Usage Note

Often appears with particles such as 'off', 'away', and 'back'. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is for paint, paper, tape, labels, and similar coverings, not sunburned skin.

Common Mistakes

The paint peeled because of the hot sun on my skin.
My skin peeled because of the hot sun.
use this sense for a covering on an object or surface, not for your body.

3. if your skin peels, small pieces of its top layer come away, usually after too m

3.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

if your skin peels, small pieces of its top layer come away, usually after too much sun.

Example

After the beach trip, Leo's nose started to peel.

body part + start to peel

My shoulders peeled for days after I forgot sunscreen.

Common collocations
  • skin peels
  • nose starts to peel
  • peeling shoulders
  • peel after sunburn
Synonyms
  • flake

    often describes tiny dry pieces of skin coming away

  • shed

    broader word for losing an outer layer, hair, or skin

Grammar Patterns

[skin/body part] + peels

be peeling after sunburn

Usage Note

Subject is usually skin itself or a named body part such as your nose, back, or shoulders. Unlike sense 2, this use normally suggests sunburn rather than paint, paper, or another material coming loose.

Common Mistakes

My arm is peeling because the sticker was old.
My arm is peeling because I stayed in the sun too long.
this sense is about skin coming off your body, usually after sunburn.
Phrasal verbs

peel off

phrasal verb

To remove a covering or layer from a surface.

Diego carefully peeled off the old wallpaper in the kitchen.

Can you peel off the sticker from this new book?

peel out

phrasal verb

To leave quickly in a vehicle, often with a loud noise from the tires.

The driver peeled out of the parking lot and sped away.

Sara peeled out in her new sports car, leaving a cloud of smoke.

Idioms

peel — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

For fruit and vegetables, 'peel' is the normal everyday verb for taking off the outside skin, whether you use your fingers or a knife. 'Pare' is narrower and usually means cutting away a thin layer neatly with a knife, as in 'pare an apple'. 'Skin' is common for potatoes, tomatoes, and also animals; it sounds more practical and sometimes rougher. 'Shell' is different because it is used for hard outer cases such as eggs, nuts, or peas, not soft fruit skin. 'Strip' suggests pulling longer pieces away, so it fits things like orange peel or bark better than ordinary cooking. You peel a banana, pare an apple, and shell peas.

peel ↗pare ↗skin ↗shell ↗strip ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

  • peel from (a surface)

Etymology

Late LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Peel came into English in the Middle English period from Old French forms such as 'peler', based on late Latin 'pilare', which meant removing hair or making something bare. The central idea was taking an outer layer off. From that, English developed the modern uses for fruit skin, paint and paper coming loose, and skin lifting after sunburn.

First known use

13th century

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1 Noun (1)