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polish off
verb
polished off; polishing off; polishes off
: to finish off or dispose of rapidly or completely
Examples of polish off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul had just polished off a 14-assist, zero-turnover masterclass in a win Wednesday night over the Grizzlies.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
Sheffield came back from 2-0 down to equalize but couldn't find another way back, with Danny Welbeck polishing off the win in injury time.
—Mattias Karen, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2024
By polishing off a home sweep of Colorado and No. 18 Utah, UCLA now has seven wins against ranked opponents.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
Clingan's first collegiate 3-pointer with 15:32 left polished off a 12-0 run and gave UConn a 61-26 lead.
—Shelby Dermer, The Enquirer, 29 Jan. 2024
Queen Bey’s look was polished off with oversized sunglasses, a holographic Luar bag, and—of course—her cowboy hat.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 Feb. 2024
Jackson was sitting by himself, polishing off a Shake Shack hamburger in a neon-pink T-shirt emblazoned with the faces of Viki and Niki from One Life to Live.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2024
Del Mar has been selected to cash in again in 2025, the first back-to-back host since Santa Anita polished off a three-year run in 2014.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2023
Which are all celebrity biographies, polished off with familiar music.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polish off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1827, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near polish off
Cite this Entry
“Polish off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polish%20off. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
polish off
verb
: to finish off or dispose of rapidly or completely
polished off the whole meal
More from Merriam-Webster on polish off
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for polish off
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