the brush-off
noun phrase
informal
: rude treatment or behavior by someone who is not interested at all in what another person wants or asks for
I wanted to ask him about his decision but he gave me the brush-off.
I got the brush-off when I asked her for help.
Examples of the brush-off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lynch sometimes ventures outside the RV to try and recruit smokers lingering around the clinic’s locations in Pennsylvania, but usually receives the brush-off.
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Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2024
Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the brush-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near the brush-off
Cite this Entry
“The brush-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20brush-off. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
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