Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To remove (a layer of bark or skin, for example) in flakes or scales; peel.
- intransitive verb To cast off in scales, flakes, or splinters.
- intransitive verb To come off or separate into flakes, scales, or layers.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To throw off scales or flakes; peel off in thin fragments; desquamate: as, the exfoliating bark of a tree.
- Specifically In surgery, to separate and come off in scales, as carious bone.
- In mineralogy, to split into scales; especially, to become scaly at the surface in consequence of heat or decomposition: as, vermiculite exfoliates before the blowpipe.
- To scale; free from scales or splinters.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To remove scales, laminæ, or splinters from the surface of.
- intransitive verb To separate and come off in scales or laminæ, as pieces of carious bone or of bark.
- intransitive verb (Min.) To split into scales, especially to become converted into scales at the result of heat or decomposition.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
remove theleaves from aplant . - verb To
remove alayer ofskin , as incosmetic preparation.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb grow by producing or unfolding leaves
- verb cast off in scales, laminae, or splinters
- verb come off in a very thin piece
- verb spread by opening the leaves of
- verb remove the surface, in scales or laminae
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Maybe I'll take some high-grade sandpaper into the shower and "exfoliate" until most of my skin falls off.
Archive 2007-05-01 Jay 2007
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Maybe I'll take some high-grade sandpaper into the shower and "exfoliate" until most of my skin falls off.
Operation Wipe Out Farmer Tan Jay 2007
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( "exfoliate," I should say, mineralogically) always into something else, -- though that's my fault more than yours; but I must go straight on now.
The Ethics of the Dust John Ruskin 1859
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I don't exfoliate as much as I should because I'm lazy (it supposedly helps the skin absorb moisture and preps for self tan—plus it just feels good), but when I do I use Bliss' Lemon + Sage Body Scrub (from £28) or the Body Shop's Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub (from £5).
When Beauty's Only Skin-Deep Tina Gaudoin 2011
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If, like me, you are a fan of Eve Lom's cleansing routine (£30), which requires a muslin face cloth, then you are already ticking the exfoliate and cleanse boxes (you could also use a flannel and something like Mama Mio's Clean Slate, £22.50).
When Beauty's Only Skin-Deep Tina Gaudoin 2011
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But I was getting good at sleeping in and rubbing sand onto my shins to exfoliate what was dead, and that counted for something.
Baby Amy Butcher 2011
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If you have sensitive skin, you may want to exfoliate and shave your legs a day before using self-tanner, she says.3.
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To get dry, flaky skin prepped for summer exposure, gently exfoliate to give the skin a smoother and brighter appearance.
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May 19, 2009 at 3: 17 PM • Coffee grounds act as a natural exfoliate.
Use Your Old Coffee Grounds To Clean Dishes, Kill Fleas And Much More | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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That mothers hate her, and Schiffer, because now they've got to get up at 4.30 every morning to shower, exfoliate, buff, varnish and pluck, before they schlep to drop-off, Spanx-ed to within an inch of their lives and sporting this season's excruciating heels.
Save me from these silly school run myths | Barbara Ellen 2011
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