brush off

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See also: brushoff and brush-off

English

Pronunciation

Verb

brush off (third-person singular simple present brushes off, present participle brushing off, simple past and past participle brushed off)

  1. (idiomatic) To disregard (something), to dismiss or ignore (someone), as unimportant.
  2. (dated) To depart with a sweeping motion; to rush away.
    • 1765, Goldsmith, The Haunch of Venison, a Poetical Epistle to Lord Clare, Dublin: W. Whitestone, , published 1776, →OCLC, page 8:
      Thus, ſeizing his hat, he bruſh’d off like the wind, / And the Porter and Eatables follow’d behind.
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see brush,‎ off. To remove something with a brush.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

brush off (plural brush offs)

  1. Nonstandard spelling of brush-off.