<p><strong>verb (used with object)</strong></p><ul><li>to strip (something) of its skin, rind, bark, etc.: to peel an orange</li><li>to strip (the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.) from something: to peel paint from a car</li><li>Croquet. to cause (another player's ball) to go through a wicket</li></ul><p><strong>verb (used without object)</strong></p><ul><li>(of skin, bark, paint, etc.) to come off; become separated</li><li>to lose the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.</li><li>Informal. to undress</li><li>Metallurgy. (of a malleable iron casting) to lose, or tend to lose, the outer layer</li></ul><p><strong>noun</strong></p><ul><li>the skin or rind of a fruit, vegetable, etc.</li><li>Metallurgy. the presence of a brittle outer layer on a malleable iron casting</li></ul><p><strong>verb phrase</strong></p><ul><li>to remove (the skin, bark, etc.) or be removed: The old skin peeled off.</li><li>Aeronautics. to leave a flying formation of aircraft with a banking turn, usually from one end of an echelon</li><li>Informal. to turn off or leave (a road): We peeled off the highway onto a dirt road</li><li>to remove (clothing) in a swift upward or downward motion</li></ul>