Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • a. & n. from polish.
  • an iron burnisher; esp., a small smoothing iron used in laundries.
  • A kind of hone or whetstone; hone slate.
  • a tool used in cleaning lithographic stones.
  • a wheel or disk coated with, or composed of, abrading material, for polishing a surface.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of polish.
  • noun The action of the verb to polish.
  • adjective That makes shiny or smooth.
  • adjective That refines.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the work of making something smooth and shiny by rubbing or waxing it

Etymologies

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Examples

  • This amuses me because "turd-polishing" is a common phrase bandied around SFF workshops, meaning the act of fiddling with the sentences and commas in an essentially broken narrative.

    i guess i picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue netcurmudgeon 2009

  • Like you mentioned the books really cater to all people who are interested in polishing their social behavior.

    African-American Etiquette | Edwardian Promenade 2010

  • Having read one Wallender book by him (The Dogs of Riga), Mr Queenan lost no time in polishing off his entire oeuvre, following this achievement by a quick run through all of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's ten Martin Beck novels.

    Nordic noir meets approval Maxine 2008

  • Having read one Wallender book by him (The Dogs of Riga), Mr Queenan lost no time in polishing off his entire oeuvre, following this achievement by a quick run through all of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's ten Martin Beck novels.

    Nordic noir meets approval Maxine 2008

  • Having read one Wallender book by him (The Dogs of Riga), Mr Queenan lost no time in polishing off his entire oeuvre, following this achievement by a quick run through all of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's ten Martin Beck novels.

    June 2008 Maxine 2008

  • Still, I managed to begin polishing the final draft of “Halves” and revised an old short story called “Full of It” (for a reprint appearance).

    Weekend – Brian Keene 2008

  • There were good ideas, interesting characters perhaps but a great deal more effort in polishing and shaping was required in many cases.

    Giving Writers a Chance Sharon Bakar 2005

  • There were good ideas, interesting characters perhaps but a great deal more effort in polishing and shaping was required in many cases.

    Archive 2005-05-01 Sharon Bakar 2005

  • He intended to spend the first two months of the fall school term polishing the essay, and correcting mistakes.

    Epics Lowell, Robert 1980

  • The last issue had a good letter from someone who signed himself ‘Conscript’, describing how he and his comrades were forced to waste their time in polishing brass, blacking the rubber hoses on stirrup pumps with boot polish, scraping broom handles with razor blades, and so on.

    As I Please 1947

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