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Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
brush off slang vb (transitive, adverb)- to dismiss and ignore (a person), esp curtly
n - an abrupt dismissal or rejection
ˈbrush-ˌoff,
n. [countable] - an act of suddenly sending someone away, or of refusing to speak with him or her:He tried to introduce himself to the beautiful actress, but she gave him the brush-off.
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026brush1 /brʌʃ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
- a hand-held instrument of bristles and a handle, used for painting, cleaning, grooming, etc.:The painter took a thin brush and began painting the wall.
- an act of brushing;
application of a brush:a few quick brushes of her hair.
- a close approach, esp. to something undesirable or harmful;
skirmish:a brush with disaster.
- the brush, [singular] a rejection or rebuff:to get the brush from one's lover.Compare brush-off.
v. [~ + object]
- to sweep, paint, groom, etc., with a brush.
- to touch lightly in passing;
pass lightly over:The plane just brushed the surface of the water.
- brush aside or away, to disregard;
ignore: [~ + object + aside/away]He brushed our objections aside.[~ + aside/away + object]He brushed aside our objections.
- brush off, [~ + object + off] to send (someone) away;
to refuse to listen to:He tried to start a conversation with her, but she brushed him off.
- brush up (on), [~ + up (+ on) + object] to revive or review (studies, a skill, etc.):had to brush up on his mathematics.
brush•er, n. [countable]
brush2 /brʌʃ/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
-
- a thick, heavy, dense growth of bushes, shrubs, etc.:The fox disappeared into the brush.
- brushwood (defs. 1, 2).
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026brush-off
(brush′ôf′, -of′),USA pronunciation n. - a refusal to talk or listen to someone;
abrupt or final dismissal or rebuff.
- noun, nominal use of verb, verbal phrase brush off 1945–50, American.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026brush1
(brush),USA pronunciation n.
- an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc.
- Music and Danceone of a pair of devices consisting of long, thin handles with wire bristles attached, used in jazz or dance bands for keeping a soft, rhythmic beat on the trap drums or the cymbals.
- Zoologythe bushy tail of an animal, esp. of a fox.
- Electricity
- a conductor, often made of carbon or copper or a combination of the two, serving to maintain electric contact between stationary and moving parts of a machine, generator, or other apparatus.
- See brush discharge.
- a feathery or hairy tuft or tassel, as on the tip of a kernel of grain or on a man's hat.
- an act or instance of brushing;
application of a brush.
- a light, stroking touch.
- a brief encounter:He has already had one brush with the law.
- a close approach, esp. to something undesirable or harmful:a brush with disaster.
- Idioms get the brush, to be rejected or rebuffed:She greeted Jim effusively, but I got the brush.
- Idioms give the brush, to ignore, rebuff, etc.:If you're still angry with him, give him the brush.
v.t. - to sweep, paint, clean, polish, etc., with a brush.
- to touch lightly in passing;
pass lightly over:His lips brushed her ear.
- to remove by brushing or by lightly passing over:His hand brushed a speck of lint from his coat.
v.i. - to move or skim with a slight contact.
- brush aside, to disregard;
ignore:Our complaints were simply brushed aside.
- brush off, to rebuff;
send away:She had never been brushed off so rudely before.
- brush up on, to revive, review, or resume (studies, a skill, etc.):She's thinking of brushing up on her tennis.
Also, brush up.
- Old French brosser to travel (through brush), verb, verbal derivative of broce (see brush2)
- 1350–1400; (noun, nominal) Middle English brusshe, probably to be identified with brush2, if origin, originally sense was implement made from twigs, etc., culled from brushwood; (verb, verbal) Middle English brushen to hasten, rush, probably
8. engagement, action, skirmish. See struggle.
brush2
(brush),USA pronunciation n.
- a dense growth of bushes, shrubs, etc.;
scrub;
thicket.
- a pile or covering of lopped or broken branches;
brushwood.
- bushes and low trees growing in thick profusion, esp. close to the ground.
- Also called brushland. land or an area covered with thickly growing bushes and low trees.
- backwoods;
a sparsely settled wooded region.
- Vulgar Latin *bruscia excrescences, derivative of Latin bruscum knot or excrescence on a maple tree
- Middle French broisse, Old French broce underbrush (compare Anglo-French brousson wood, brusseie heath), perh.
- Middle English brusshe 1350–1400
- Biographical Katharine, 1902–52, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
'brush off' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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