[peel-awf, -of] 
| designed to be peeled off from a backing or large sheet, usually of paper, before use; readied for use by peeling off: peel-off labels. |
[peel] | 1. | to strip (something) of its skin, rind, bark, etc.: to peel an orange. |
| 2. | to strip (the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.) from something: to peel paint from a car. |
| 3. | Croquet. to cause (another player's ball) to go through a wicket. |
| 4. | (of skin, bark, paint, etc.) to come off; become separated. |
| 5. | to lose the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc. |
| 6. | Informal. to undress. |
| 7. | Metallurgy. (of a malleable iron casting) to lose, or tend to lose, the outer layer. |
| 8. | the skin or rind of a fruit, vegetable, etc. |
| 9. | Metallurgy. the presence of a brittle outer layer on a malleable iron casting. |
| 10. | peel off,
|
| 11. | keep one's eyes peeled, Informal. to watch closely or carefully; be alert: Keep your eyes peeled for a gas station. |
| peel 1 (pēl) n.
v. tr.
peel off
[From Middle English pilen, pelen, to peel, from Old French peler, and Old English pilian (both from Latin pilāre, to deprive of hair, from pilus, hair) and from Old French pillier, to tug, pull, plunder (from Latin pilleum, felt cap).] |
peel off
Remove an outer layer of skin, bark, paint, or the like; also, come off in thin strips or pieces. For example, Peeling off birch bark can kill the tree, or Paint was peeling off the walls. [Late 1500s]
Remove or separate, as in Helen peeled off her gloves and got to work, or Al peeled off a ten-dollar bill and gave it to the driver. [First half of 1900s]
Also, peel away. Depart from a group, as in Ruth peeled off from the pack of runners and went down a back road. This expression originated in air force jargon during World War II and was used for an airplane or pilot that left flight formation, a sight that suggested the peeling of skin from a banana.