1. Separate the outer layer of something
   "She peeled off the banana skin"
    
2. Come off in flakes or thin small pieces
   "The paint in my house is peeling off";
   - peel, flake off, flake
    
3. Take off, as with some difficulty
   "He peeled off his blood-soaked shirt"
    
4. Peel off in scales
   "dry skin peels off";
   - desquamate
    
5. (air travel) leave a formation
   "The fighter jet peeled off from the squadron"

Derived forms: peeled off, peeling off, peels off

Type of: break, break away, break off, chip, chip off, come off, curve, cut, exuviate, molt [N. Amer], moult [Brit, Cdn], pare, peel, shed, sheer, skin, slew, slough, slue, snap off, swerve, take off, trend, veer