rip off the band-aid

verb

To perform a painful or unpleasant, but necessary, action quickly so as to minimize the pain or fear associated with it.

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Meanings

verbrip off the band-aid (third-person singular simple present rips off the band-aid, present participle ripping off the band-aid, simple past and past participle ripped off the band-aid)

present singular third person rips off the band-aid · participle present ripping off the band-aid · participle past ripped off the band-aid · past ripped off the band-aid · alternative rip the band-aid off

  1. idiomaticinformalTo perform a painful or unpleasant, but necessary, action quickly so as to minimize the pain or fear associated with it.

    Look, folks. I don't want to write this recap any more than you want to read it. But let's rip off the Band-Aid and get through this thing together.

    2007 May 14, Aldo Cella, “From The Orioles Hangout Page”, in alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox (Usenet)
Cite this entry
APA

rip off the band-aid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rip%20off%20the%20band-aid

MLA

“rip off the band-aid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rip%20off%20the%20band-aid. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rip off the band-aid,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rip%20off%20the%20band-aid.

Source: rip off the band-aid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.