Word.ws English Dictionary

gives someone the brush-off

gives someone the brush-off is the third-person singular simple present indicative of give someone the brush-off.

Meaning of give someone the brush-off

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)

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To rebuff, snub or curtly reject someone.
    • I asked three different clerks, and they all gave me the brush-off.
    Synonyms:
    give somebody the run-around, give somebody the cold shoulder

Questions about gives someone the brush-off

What is gives someone the brush-off the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Gives someone the brush-off is the third-person singular simple present indicative of give someone the brush-off.

Words near gives someone the brush-off in the dictionary

  1. gives someone something to think about
  2. gives someone the air
  3. gives someone the arm
  4. gives someone the bag
  5. gives someone the boot
  6. gives someone the brush-off
  7. gives someone the business
  8. gives someone the chair
  9. gives someone the cold shoulder
  10. gives someone the creeps
  11. gives someone the eye

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gives someone the brush-off (page history and authors); 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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