polish off
To finish completely, especially a food or liquorTo finish completely, especially a food (polish the plate with one's tongue) or liquor.
» Tom polished off his martini and put the glass on the waiter's tray.
Meaning
2 senses(idiomatic)To finish completely, especially a food (polish the plate with one's tongue) or liquor.
They polished off the last of the cake.
finish eating all the food on one's plate or on the table
To remove by polishing (rubbing with a fine abrasive).
White rice is rice that has had the brownish hull polished off leaving just the white inner part of the grain.
Examples
7 sentencesTom polished off his martini and put the glass on the waiter's tray.
Are you gonna polish off a whole chicken?
I can polish it off.
Tom polished off everything in the biscuit tin himself.
deTom hat allein die ganze Keksdose leergegessen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
The cake had been polished off before I got home.
deDer Kuchen war verputzt, ehe ich nach Hause kam. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Translations
2 languagesForms
polishes off, polishing off, polished off, polished off| Base form | polish off · to polish off |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | polishes off |
| Present participle | polishing off |
| Past simple | polished off |
| Past participle | polished off |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsSynonyms
15 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb