polishing off

verb

present participle of polish off
as in pecking (at)

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for polishing off
  1. chewing
  2. finishing
Verb
  • Pica and compulsive tendencies There’s an important distinction between chewing and pica in cats.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026
  • When that interaction is missing, chewing can become an outlet.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of chewing
Verb
  • The hours between finishing work for the day and going out to dinner are the calm before the storm.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 July 2026
  • Prescott is coming off a Pro Bowl season, also finishing third place in Comeback Player of the Year voting, after throwing for 4,552 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
    — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 July 2026
Definition of finishing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

polishing
polishing off
polish off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Polishing off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polishing%20off. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of bibelot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All