polish

(pŏl'ĭsh)

v., -ished, -ish·ing, -ish·es.

v.tr.

1. To make smooth and shiny by rubbing or chemical action.
2. To remove the outer layers from (grains of rice) by rotation in drums.
3. To free from coarseness; refine: polish one's manners.
4. To remove flaws from; perfect or complete: polish one's piano technique; polish up the lyrics.

v.intr.

1. To become smooth or shiny by or as if by being rubbed.
2. To become perfect or refined.

n.

1. Smoothness or shininess of surface or finish.
2. A substance containing chemical agents or abrasive particles and applied to smooth or shine a surface: shoe polish.
3. The act or process of polishing.
4. Elegance of style or manners; refinement.

phrasal verb:

polish off Informal.

1. To finish or dispose of quickly and easily.

[Middle English polisshen, from Old French polir, poliss-, from Latin polīre.]

polisher pol'ish·er n.

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also polish off

verb

1. To give a gleaming luster to, usually through friction: buff¹, burnish, furbish, glaze, gloss, shine, sleek. See light/darkness.
2. To bring to perfection or completion: perfect, refine, smooth. Idioms: smooth off the rough edges. See better/worse.
3. To improve by making minor changes or additions: retouch, touch up. See better/worse.

phrasal verb - polish off

1. To use all of: consume, drain, draw down, eat up, exhaust, expend, finish, play out, run through, spend, use up. See increase/decrease.
2. To eat completely or entirely: consume, devour, dispatch, eat up. Informal put away. See ingestion.

noun

1. A radiant brightness or glow, usually due to light reflected from a smooth surface: burnish, glaze, gloss, luster, sheen, shine, sleekness. See light/darkness.
2. Refined, effortless beauty of manner, form, and style: elegance, elegancy, grace, urbanity. See beautiful/ugly, style/good style/bad style.

Idioms beginning with polish:
polish off
polish the apple

See also spit and polish.

n

Definition: shine, brightness
Antonyms: dullness

v

Definition: improve performance, look
Antonyms: deface, ruin, spoil

v

Definition: shine, buff
Antonyms: dull, roughen

In plastering, to give a sheen or gloss to the finish coat.

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The final step in dental prophylaxis which smooths the tooth surface and delays the rate of new plaque adhesion. Carried out with a mechanical polisher, prophy cup and paste.

For a list of words related to polishing, see:

• Procedures - polishing: mechanical cleaning and shining of tooth enamel

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See words rhyming with "polisher."

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - polere, pudse
v. intr. - blive blank
n. - polering, politur

idioms:

• diamond polisher    diamantsliber
• polish off    sætte til livs
• polish the apple    polere æblet
• polish up    pudse op

adj. - polsk
n. - polak

Nederlands (Dutch)
oppoetsen, polijsten, verfijnen, opwrijven, bijschaven, glans, verfijning, politoer, poetsmiddel, Pools

Français (French)
v. tr. - cirer, astiquer, parfaire, perfectionner
v. intr. - cirer
n. - cire, cirage, pâte à polir, lustre (pour une voiture), le fait de faire reluire/briller qch, cirer qch, éclat, (fig) brio, chic

idioms:

• diamond polisher    polisseur de diamants, polissoir
• polish off    expédier, liquider (un opposant)
• polish up    (lit) astiquer, cirer, parfaire (une langue), perfectionner, fignoler

adj. - polonais
n. - les Polonais, (Ling) polonais

Deutsch (German)
n. - Polnisch, Glanz, Politur, Poliermittel, Schliff
v. - aufpolieren, putzen, polieren

idioms:

• diamond polisher    Diamantschleifer
• polish off    wegputzen, erledigen, abservieren
• polish up    aufpolieren

adj. - polnisch
n. - Pole, Polnisch

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - στιλπνότητα, λάμψη, γυαλάδα, βερνίκι, λούστρο, στίλβωμα, ραφινάρισμα, (μτφ.) ευγενικοί τρόποι, φινέτσα, πολωνική γλώσσα, (επίθ.) πολωνικός, πολωνέζικος
v. - γυαλίζω, στιλβώνω, λουστράρω, εκλεπτύνω, ραφινάρω, εξευγενίζω

idioms:

• diamond polisher    ομαλυντής διαμαντιών
• polish off    αποτελειώνω (δείπνο κ.λπ.), κατεβάζω, καθαρίζω (φαγητό), ξεπετάω, τελειώνω βιαστικά
• polish up    κάνω την τελευταία επεξεργασία, στιλβώνω, γυαλίζω, λουστράρω, (μτφ.) εξευγενίζω, εκλεπτύνω, (για κείμενα) χτενίζω

Italiano (Italian)
polacco, lucidare, lustrare, raffinatezza, brunitura

idioms:

• polish off    consumare
• polish up    lucidare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - polimento (m), polidor (m), polonês (m), acabamento (m)
v. - polir, elaborar, melhorar a apresentação

idioms:

• diamond polisher    polidor de diamante
• polish off    polir
• polish the apple    bajular
• polish up    melhorar, embelezar

Русский (Russian)
полировать, шлифовать, лоск, лак, польский, польский язык

idioms:

• diamond polisher    шлифовщик бриллиантов
• polish off    покончить, ликвидировать, жадно есть все
• polish the apple    подлизываться
• polish up    полировать, доводить до совершенства

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - limpiar, encerar, pulir, pulimentar, abrillantar, bruñir, perfeccionar
v. intr. - recibir lustre o pulimento
n. - refinamiento, brillo, lustre, pulimento, esmalte, laca

idioms:

• diamond polisher    diamantista
• polish off    zampar, zamparse, despachar, liquidar, cepillarse
• polish up    pulir, dar brillo a, perfeccionar

adj. - polaco, de Polonia
n. - polaco

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - polering, glans, polityr, putsmedel
v. - polera, slipa, fila på, bli blank

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
波兰的, 波兰语的, 波兰人的, 波兰语

磨光, 擦亮, 润饰, 使优美, 使精炼, 发亮, 变光滑, 光泽, 精良, 优雅

idioms:

• diamond polisher    钻石磨光机, 钻石磨光工人
• polish off    草草做完, 打败
• polish the apple    逢迎
• polish up    润色, 改善

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 波蘭的, 波蘭語的, 波蘭人的
n. - 波蘭語

v. tr. - 磨光, 擦亮, 潤飾, 使優美, 使精煉
v. intr. - 發亮, 變光滑
n. - 光澤, 精良, 優雅

idioms:

• diamond polisher    鑽石磨光機, 鑽石磨光工人
• polish off    草草做完, 打敗
• polish the apple    逢迎
• polish up    潤色, 改善

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 닦다, 마멸시키다
v. intr. - 윤이 나다, 세련되다
n. - 광내는[닦는] 재료, 품위

idioms:

• polish off    (일, 식사 따위를) 재빨리 마무르다
• polish up    다듬어 내다, 마무르다

adj. - 폴란드의, 폴란드사람[말]의
n. - 폴란드어

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ポーランド語, ポーランド人, みがき粉, マニキュア, 光沢, 洗練, 上品
v. - 磨く, 仕上げを施す, 洗練する, つやが出る, 上品になる
adj. - ポーランドの

idioms:

• polish off    すばやく片付ける, 手早くやっ付ける
• polish the apple    ご機嫌を取る, ごまをする
• polish up    仕上げる, つやが出る, 磨きをかける

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) لمعان, انجلاء, مادة صقل أو تلميع, معجون, مسحوق, سائل خاص للتلميع (فعل) يطلي, يلمع, يشذب, يهذب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הבריק, צחצח, ליטש, עידן, שיפר, גימר‬
v. intr. - ‮הוברק, צוחצח, לוטש‬
n. - ‮חומר-הברקה, משחה, צחצוח, ברק, עידון, ליטוש‬
adj. - ‮פולני/ת, של הפולנים‬
n. - ‮פולנית (שפה)‬

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