polish
verb/ˈpɒlɪʃ/
/ˈpɑːlɪʃ/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they polish | /ˈpɒlɪʃ/ /ˈpɑːlɪʃ/ |
| he / she / it polishes | /ˈpɒlɪʃɪz/ /ˈpɑːlɪʃɪz/ |
| past simple polished | /ˈpɒlɪʃt/ /ˈpɑːlɪʃt/ |
| past participle polished | /ˈpɒlɪʃt/ /ˈpɑːlɪʃt/ |
| -ing form polishing | /ˈpɒlɪʃɪŋ/ /ˈpɑːlɪʃɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to make something smooth and shiny by rubbing it
- polish (something) Polish shoes regularly to protect the leather.
- The gemstones are cut and polished by master craftsmen.
- She polished the apple on her sleeve.
- I spent the morning cleaning and polishing.
- polish something with something He polished his glasses with a handkerchief.
- polish something up She decided to polish the ring up and find out who it belonged to.
- be polished + adj. The floor had been polished smooth.
Definitions on the go
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- [transitive] to make changes to something in order to improve it
- polish something The statement was carefully polished and checked before release.
- polish something up The hotel has polished up its act (= improved its service) since last year.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French poliss-, lengthened stem of polir ‘to polish’, from Latin polire.
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polish