strips down

Peels off layers

Strips down means to remove clothing, either one's own or someone else's, typically down to underwear or complete nakedness: He stripped down and jumped in the lake.

It also means to disassemble something to its basic components: The mechanic stripped down the engine to find the problem.

Figuratively, to strip something down is to reduce it to essentials: We stripped down the proposal to its core ideas.

Related

condenses · primes · bares · reveals · distills · shaves · opens up · clarifies · takes apart · preps · reduces · dismantles · clears away · denudes · exposes · discloses · minimizes · cleanses

Opposites
clothing/covering

strips downgets dressed

Puts on clothing

covers up · suits up · wraps up · throws on · dons

complexity/components

strips downbuilds up

Accumulates gradually

elaborates · embellishes · complicates · augments · expands

assembly/disassembly

strips downassembles

Brings components together

puts together · constructs · rebuilds · builds up · builds

Family

strip, strips, down, stripped, stripping, stripper, strippers, striptease, downer

Familiarity
Top 50,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG