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Prepositions after verbs

Strip of, to, by, from or off

Strip commonly appears with of, from, and off when removing something from a person or object.

Quick answer

Which prepositions follow strip?

Use strip of to mean remove something from someone or something. Use strip from for the source something is removed from, and strip off for removing clothing or layers. Strip to means remove clothes until reaching a certain state. Strip by is not a standard fixed pattern.

The scandal stripped him of his title.
Paint was stripped from the walls.
He stripped off his jacket quickly.
The children stripped to their swimsuits.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
strip someone of + thing

Removing possessions or rights

Of introduces what is taken away.

The court stripped her of citizenship.
The injury stripped him of confidence.
2
strip something from + source

Removing material from a surface

From shows where something is removed.

Workers stripped paint from the doors.
Editors stripped personal details from the file.
3
strip off + clothing

Removing clothes or layers

Off emphasizes taking something away from the body or surface.

She stripped off her gloves.
They stripped off the old wallpaper.
4
strip to + clothing state

Describing how much clothing remains

To shows the state reached after removing clothes.

He stripped to his shorts before diving in.
The actor stripped to the waist for the scene.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
strip of
They stripped him of authority.
remove something from someone
strip from
Dust was stripped from the surface.
remove something from a source
strip off
She stripped off her coat.
take off clothing or layers
strip to
He stripped to his underwear.
remove clothes until reaching a state
strip by
The wall was stripped by hand.
by describes method here, not a fixed verb pattern

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using by as a fixed complement

By usually describes method, not a standard pattern after strip.

✕ They stripped the table by the paint. ✓ They stripped the paint from the table.

Confusing of and from

Use strip someone of something, but strip something from somewhere.

✕ They stripped the door of paint. ✓ They stripped paint from the door.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The company stripped him ___ his managerial role.
2. Workers stripped old varnish ___ the wood.
3. He stripped ___ his T-shirt after the match.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between strip off and strip to?

Strip off focuses on removing an item. Strip to focuses on the final state of dress.

Can strip of be used figuratively?

Yes. It is common with rights, power, confidence, and status.

Is strip by correct?

Not as a regular verb-preposition pattern. By may describe method in a sentence.

sack, by, sack, for, sack, from "sacrifice for" or "sacrifice to"? sail from, in, for, to or through? "salvage from" or "salvage in"? sanction by, for, in, with or according? satisfy with, by, in, about or after? "saturate with" or "saturate in"? save by, for, from, on or in? "say in", "say about" or "say to"? "scan for", "scan in" or "scan through"? "scar by" or "scar on"? scatter in, across, around, throughout or on?

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