give someone the brush-off
give someone the brush-off verb: to rebuff, snub or curtly reject someone.
Verb
give someone the brush-off (third-person singular simple present gives someone the brush-off, present participle giving someone the brush-off, simple past gave someone the brush-off, past participle given someone the brush-off)
Synonyms of give someone the brush-off
- give somebody the run-around
- give somebody the cold shoulder
Forms of give someone the brush-off
| third-person singular present | gives someone the brush-off |
|---|---|
| present participle | giving someone the brush-off |
| past | gave someone the brush-off |
| past participle | given someone the brush-off |
Questions about give someone the brush-off
- What does give someone the brush-off mean?
- Give someone the brush-off means to rebuff, snub or curtly reject someone.
- What part of speech is give someone the brush-off?
- Give someone the brush-off is a verb.
- What is the past tense of give someone the brush-off?
- The past tense of give someone the brush-off is gave someone the brush-off.
Words near give someone the brush-off in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: give someone the brush-off (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-give someone the brush-off.ogg.
Cite this entry: “give someone the brush-off.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/give_someone_the_brush-off. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.