flesh
Americannoun
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the soft substance of a human or other animal body, consisting of muscle and fat.
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muscular and fatty tissue.
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the muscular and fatty substance or tissue in animals that is consumed as food: often regarded specifically as meat while excluding seafood.
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fatness; weight.
Even after giving birth to her third child, she had very little excess flesh to lose.
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the body, especially as distinguished from the spirit or soul.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
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the physical or animal nature of humankind as distinguished from its moral or spiritual nature.
the needs of the flesh.
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Archaic. humankind.
It is a higher plane of existence, a domain of mystery, where flesh has never walked.
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Archaic. living creatures generally.
Are we not the guardians of all flesh, from the tiniest burrowers of earth to the grandest dwellers of ocean?
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a person's family or relatives; flesh and blood.
With the death of his sister, he is now the last of his lineal flesh.
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Botany. the soft, pulpy portion of a fruit, vegetable, etc., as distinguished from the core, skin, shell, etc..
After roasting the squash halves, scrape the flesh from the skin and mash with some cream and butter.
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the surface of the human body; skin.
A person with tender flesh should not expose it to direct sunlight.
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(no longer in common use; now considered offensive) flesh color.
The crayons they once called “flesh” have been labeled “peach” since 1962.
verb (used with object)
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Archaic. to plunge (a weapon) into the flesh.
With brazen might, she fleshed her sword into the dragon’s throat.
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Hunting to feed (a hound or hawk) with flesh in order to make it more eager for the chase.
It was hardly necessary to flesh those foxhounds—they were excited enough by their master’s call to the hunt.
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Archaic. to incite and accustom (persons) to bloodshed or battle by an initial experience.
Under his regime, it was not uncommon for very young boys to be fleshed as indoctrination into a culture of brutality.
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Obsolete. to inflame the ardor or passions of by a foretaste.
I shall not be easily fleshed—especially by those of questionable intent.
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to overlay or cover (a skeleton or skeletal frame) with flesh or with a fleshlike substance.
The bones appeared to have been fleshed, as if to simulate some sort of reconstruction.
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to give dimension, substance, or reality to (often followed byout ).
When Evan tells the story, it’s more fleshed, more compelling and believable.
The playwright wrote pretty good characters, but the actors really fleshed them out.
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to remove adhering flesh from (hides), in leather manufacture.
The hides we work with have been thoroughly fleshed before we receive them.
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Archaic. to satiate with flesh or fleshly enjoyments; surfeit; glut.
Are you gentlemen quite fleshed?
verb phrase
idioms
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pound of flesh, something that strict terms or codes of justice demand is due, but can only be paid with great loss or suffering to the payer.
These guys are notorious for providing loans that can never be paid off without a pound of flesh.
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in the flesh, present and alive before one's eyes; in person.
The movie star looked quite different in the flesh.
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press the flesh, to shake hands, as with voters while campaigning.
The senator is busy as ever pressing the flesh on the campaign trail.
noun
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the soft part of the body of an animal or human, esp muscular tissue, as distinct from bone and viscera
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informal excess weight; fat
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archaic the edible tissue of animals as opposed to that of fish or, sometimes, fowl; meat
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the thick usually soft part of a fruit or vegetable, as distinct from the skin, core, stone, etc
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the human body and its physical or sensual nature as opposed to the soul or spirit
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mankind in general
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animate creatures in general
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one's own family; kin (esp in the phrase one's own flesh and blood )
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a yellowish-pink to greyish-yellow colour
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Christian Science belief on the physical plane which is considered erroneous, esp the belief that matter has sensation
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(modifier) tanning of or relating to the inner or under layer of a skin or hide
a flesh split
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in person; actually present
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(esp of something ghostly) to frighten and horrify one
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informal to shake hands, usually with large numbers of people, esp in political campaigning
verb
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(tr) hunting to stimulate the hunting instinct of (hounds or falcons) by giving them small quantities of raw flesh
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to wound the flesh of with a weapon
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archaic to accustom or incite to bloodshed or battle by initial experience
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tanning to remove the flesh layer of (a hide or skin)
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to fatten; fill out
Other Word Forms
- fleshless adjective
Etymology
Origin of flesh
First recorded before 900; Middle English flesh, flæsh, flash, Old English flǣsc; cognate with Old Frisian flēsk, Old High German fleisk, German Fleisch, Old Norse flesk “pork, ham, bacon”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"And when you finally see a Howson piece in the flesh, you understand exactly why."
From BBC
"Security guarantees are going to have to be fleshed out," says Ambassador Fried.
From BBC
It’s also among a handful of tunes one could imagine breaking through for another artist, had it been fleshed out with production that accentuates its dynamic shifts.
He proclaimed that immigrants who accept the truths of the Declaration of Independence have a right to claim they are “blood of the blood, flesh of the flesh” of our founders.
Later, those will be fleshed out into characters and scenes in the new “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” game, which debuts Friday.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
