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Peel

/piːl/

nounverbA2

Definition

As a noun, peel is the thin outer covering of fruits or vegetables, like the skin of an orange or potato. As a verb, peel means to take off this outer layer carefully, often by hand or with a tool like a knife. People peel fruits to eat the soft part inside.

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See It in Action

Noun: The outer skin or layer of fruit or vegetables

  • •The apple’s peel is red and shiny.
  • •Orange peel can be used to make tea.
  • •The banana peel is slippery on the floor.

Verb: To remove the outer layer of something, usually fruit or vegetables

  • •She peeled the potatoes before cooking them.
  • •I like to peel oranges carefully so the juice doesn’t spill.
  • •He peeled the label off the bottle.

Make It Stick

  • ✓Think of "peel" like "skin" (A1 word), but peel is the part you usually take off before eating
  • ✓Picture an orange: the rough, colorful outside that you hold and remove before eating the juicy inside
  • ✓It's the feeling of your fingers pulling away the thin layer that covers the fruit or vegetable
  • ✓Sounds like "peel" → imagine peeling a banana and the skin coming off in strips
  • ✓Remember peeling a sticker off a book or peeling tape from a surface—slowly pulling off a thin layer
  • ✓NOT like "cut" (which means to divide or remove parts by a sharp tool), peel is about removing just the outer layer
  • ✓NOT like "wash" (cleaning), peel is about removing skin, not cleaning dirt
  • ✓NOT like "bite" (eating), peel is before eating the inside part

Try Other Words

  • •Strip: to take off a thin layer or piece (Use when emphasizing the action of removing in long pieces)
  • •Remove: to take something away (Use in general contexts, less specific than peel)
  • •Pare: to cut off the outer layer (Use especially in cooking, often with a knife)
  • •Skin: to remove the skin (Use for animals or sometimes fruits, more general than peel)

Unboxing

  • •Word parts: No prefix or suffix; "peel" is a simple root word
  • •Etymology: From Old English "pilian," meaning to strip off or remove the outer layer
  • •Historical development: Used since early English to describe removing outer layers of fruits, vegetables, or other coverings
  • •Modern usage: Commonly used in cooking and everyday language for removing skins or coverings from food or objects

Reflect & Connect

•How does peeling fruit change the way you eat or enjoy it?
•Can "peel" be used in other ways besides food? How do those meanings connect?

Fill in the blanks

1.You need to peel the apple ___ before eating it because the skin is hard.
2.When you peel an orange, the smell of the ___ often fills the room.
3.Unlike cutting, peeling removes only the ___ layer, not the whole fruit.
4.She peeled ___ the potato skin carefully to avoid wasting the soft part.
5.People sometimes peel ___ stickers or labels from bottles or boxes.
6.If the banana peel is on the floor, it can be very ___ and dangerous.
7.After peeling the fruit, you can eat the ___ inside.