fillet

American  

[fil-it, fi-ley] / ˈfɪl ɪt, fɪˈleɪ /

noun

1. Cooking.

   1. a boneless cut or slice of meat or fish, especially the beef tenderloin.

   2. a piece of veal or other meat boned, rolled, and tied for roasting.

2. a narrow band of ribbon or the like worn around the head, usually as an ornament; headband.

3. any narrow strip, as wood or metal.

4. a strip of any material used for binding.

5. Bookbinding.

   1. a decorative line impressed on a book cover, usually at the top and bottom of the back.

   2. a rolling tool for impressing such lines.

6. Architecture.

   1. Also called list.  a narrow flat molding or area, raised or sunk between larger moldings or areas.

   2. a narrow portion of the surface of a column left between adjoining flutes.

7. Anatomy. lemniscus.

8. a raised rim or ridge, as a ring on the muzzle of a gun.

9. Metallurgy. a concave strip forming a rounded interior angle in a foundry pattern.

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verb (used with object)

fillets, present (3rd person singular) filleted, past participle, past filleting present participle

1. Cooking.

   1. to cut or prepare (meat or fish) as a fillet.

   2. to cut fillets from.

2. to bind or adorn with or as if with a fillet.

3. Machinery. to round off (an interior angle) with a fillet.

fillet British  

/ ˈfɪlɪt /

noun

1. 1. Also called: fillet steak.  a strip of boneless meat, esp the undercut of a sirloin of beef

   2. the boned side of a fish

   3. the white meat of breast and wing of a chicken

2. a narrow strip of any material

3. a thin strip of ribbon, lace, etc, worn in the hair or around the neck

4. a narrow flat moulding, esp one between other mouldings

5. a narrow band between two adjacent flutings on the shaft of a column

6. Also called: fillet weld.  a narrow strip of welded metal of approximately triangular cross-section used to join steel members at right angles

7. heraldry a horizontal division of a shield, one quarter of the depth of the chief

8. Also called: listel.   list.  the top member of a cornice

9. Technical name: lemniscus.  anatomy a band of sensory nerve fibres in the brain connected to the thalamus

10. 1. a narrow decorative line, impressed on the cover of a book

    2. a wheel tool used to impress such lines

11. another name for fairing 1

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verb

1. to cut or prepare (meat or fish) as a fillet

2. to cut fillets from (meat or fish)

3. anatomy to surgically remove a bone from (part of the body) so that only soft tissue remains

4. to bind or decorate with or as if with a fillet

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have filleted
  perfect
• has filleted
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have been filleting
  perfect progressive
• am filleting
  progressive 1st person singular
• is filleting
  progressive 3rd person singular
• fillets
  singular 3rd person
• has been filleting
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are filleting
  progressive
• filleting
  participle

Past

• had filleted
  perfect
• were filleting
  progressive plural
• had been filleting
  perfect progressive
• filleted
  simple
• filleted
  participle
• was filleting
  progressive singular

Future

• will fillet
  simple
• will have filleted
  perfect
• will have been filleting
  perfect progressive
• will be filleting
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of fillet

1300–50; Middle English filet < Anglo-French, Middle French, equivalent to fil thread + -et -et

Explanation

A fillet is a specially cut piece of meat or fish. If you order a fillet of salmon at a restaurant, it won't have any bones in it. You can eat a fish fillet or a fillet of beef — either one will be boneless. If you cut a fillet yourself, you fillet the meat. The oldest meaning of the noun fillet, one that's rare today, is "a ribbon worn around the head." It comes from the French filet, the diminutive form of fil, or "thread." The meat meaning came from the technique of tying it with a string before it was cut.

Example Sentences

But if I had to choose my top pick, it would be Cento’s flat fillet anchovies packed in olive oil.

From Salon • May 1, 2026

Make sure to buy two fish so everyone gets a fillet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

The dish - usually prepared with a long strip of fillet steak, wrapped in pastry and mushrooms - was something Ms Patterson's mother made when she was a child, to mark special occasions, she said.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2025

These oily fish contain essential nutrients including calcium, B12 and omega-3 but some are lost from our diets when we just eat the salmon fillet.

From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2024

His face went crimson inside its helm, where nobody could see it, and he felt a warm glow under the straw fillet which padded his skull.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• fish
• meat
• slice