fleece
Americannoun
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the coat of wool that covers a sheep or a similar animal.
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the wool shorn from a sheep at one shearing.
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something resembling a fleece.
a fleece of clouds in a blue sky.
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a fabric with a soft, silky pile, used for warmth, as for lining garments.
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the soft nap or pile of such a fabric.
verb (used with object)
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to deprive of money or belongings by fraud, hoax, or the like; swindle.
He fleeced the stranger of several dollars.
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to remove the fleece of (a sheep).
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to overspread, as with a fleece; fleck with fleecelike masses.
a host of clouds fleecing the summer sky.
noun
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the coat of wool that covers the body of a sheep or similar animal and consists of a mass of crinkly hairs
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the wool removed from a single sheep
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something resembling a fleece in texture or warmth
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sheepskin or a fabric with soft pile, used as a lining for coats, etc
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a warm polyester fabric with a brushed nap, used for outdoor garments
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a jacket or top made from such a fabric
verb
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to defraud or charge exorbitantly; swindle
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another term for shear
Usage
What does fleece mean? Fleece is the outer coat of wool that covers a sheep, goat, llama, or similar animal, as in Wool made from a sheep’s fleece can be scratchy, but wool from llama’s fleece is soft and buttery.Fleece can also mean the wool collected from these animals or fabric made from it, as in Sheep farmers depend on getting good prices for recently cut fleeces to keep their farms going. Related to these senses, you can use fleece as a verb to mean shearing, or cutting, the wool off a sheep, as in The farmer’s son spent all morning fleecing the flock of sheep. Fleece also refers to fabrics or garments made from the fleece of an animal or a fabric that resembles the texture of a fleece. Coats and jackets made with polyester with a soft, silky pile are commonly referred to as fleeces.Finally, fleece is commonly used to mean cheating or swindling a person out of money, as in I was fleeced out of a hundred dollars this morning by a fake insurance salesman. Example: Children always love touching the soft fleece of the llamas at the petting zoo.
Other Word Forms
- fleeceable adjective
- fleeceless adjective
- fleecelike adjective
- fleecer noun
Etymology
Origin of fleece
before 1000; Middle English flees, Old English flēos, flȳs; cognate with Middle Dutch vlies, Middle High German vlius, German Vlies
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.
Among the new nonnegotiables: fleece vests instead of jackets and elastic waistbands instead of “hard pants,” i.e., anything with a zipper.
Wearing a mask, her legs covered with a fleece blanket, and seated in a wheelchair, she told media last week that she will not back down.
From Barron's
More than 40 musicians have signed a letter urging the UK prime minister to "stop touts from fleecing fans" and cap the price that can be charged when tickets are resold.
From BBC
She sews the tail fabric made of Arctic polar fleece of a sardine puppet.
From Los Angeles Times
“A certain type of fan is starting to recognize they are being fleeced,” Hanlon said.
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.
