fillet

[ fil-it; usually fi-ley for 1, 10 ]

/ ˈfɪl ɪt; usually fɪˈleɪ for 1, 10 /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for fillet on Thesaurus.com

noun

Cooking.

a boneless cut or slice of meat or fish, especially the beef tenderloin.
a piece of veal or other meat boned, rolled, and tied for roasting.

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

any narrow strip, as wood or metal.

a strip of any material used for binding.

Bookbinding.

a decorative line impressed on a book cover, usually at the top and bottom of the back.
a rolling tool for impressing such lines.

Architecture.

Also called list. a narrow flat molding or area, raised or sunk between larger moldings or areas.
a narrow portion of the surface of a column left between adjoining flutes.

Anatomy. lemniscus.

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

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

verb (used with object)

Cooking.

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

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

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

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also filet (for defs. 1, 10).

Origin of fillet

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

Words nearby fillet

filled milk, filled to the brim, filler, filler cap, filler metal, fillet, filleting, fillet weld, fill-in, filling, filling station

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fillet in a sentence

The fillet tasted like the real thing, but it still has a way to go.
I Tried Lab-Grown Fish Maw. Here's Why It Could Help Save Our Oceans|Amy Gunia/Hong Kong|September 17, 2021|Time
Move the carrots and parsnips to one side of the sheet pan and place the fish fillets on the other side.
Horseradish and matzoh-crusted cod is an ideal sheet pan dinner to use up leftover Passover ingredients|Ellie Krieger|March 18, 2021|Washington Post
Fold any thinner pieces of fish so that all the fillets are about the same thickness.
Horseradish and matzoh-crusted cod is an ideal sheet pan dinner to use up leftover Passover ingredients|Ellie Krieger|March 18, 2021|Washington Post
She said that "the most expensive piece of meat in a local butcher [in France] is a fillet of horse meat."
Princess Anne Says We Should Eat Horses!|Tom Sykes|November 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The beef tenderloin was excellent, but I was disappointed with the bass fillet.
What Harry Ate|Tom Sykes|March 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Cover the top of each fillet with a quarter of the andouille crust mixture.
5 Iconic Recipes From an Iconic Chef|Emeril Lagasse|May 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I like to use wild salmon, but alternatively you can use any firm-fleshed fillet.
Fresh Picks|Nina Simonds|April 20, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It is Japanese- and Chinese-inspired, offering tasty dishes like sesame-crusted tuna and wok-charred beef fillet.
Gal With a Suitcase|Jolie Hunt|July 10, 2010|DAILY BEAST
And the sun was glancing on many a gemmed fillet and many a ribbon-decked, blond tress that fell nigh to its proud owner's knees.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
A gold fillet, set with another matchless diamond, confined her hair, which fell loosely in wavy tresses round her shoulders.
The Devil-Tree of El Dorado|Frank Aubrey
This is bound round the forehead by a fillet sometimes made of camel's hair, which holds it in its place tightly, like a cap.
Round the Wonderful World|G. E. Mitton
To form cutlets similar to the fillet cutlets, place them in a frying-pan, and let them poach in water.
Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode|Harriet A. de Salis
Fillet a brace of woodcock, soak them in salad oil seasoned with black pepper, some cloves, and a pounded head of garlic.
Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode|Harriet A. de Salis

British Dictionary definitions for fillet

fillet

/ (ˈfɪlɪt) /

noun

Also called: fillet steak a strip of boneless meat, esp the undercut of a sirloin of beef
the boned side of a fish
the white meat of breast and wing of a chicken

a narrow strip of any material

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

a narrow flat moulding, esp one between other mouldings

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

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

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

Also called: listel, list the top member of a cornice

anatomy a band of sensory nerve fibres in the brain connected to the thalamusTechnical name: lemniscus

a narrow decorative line, impressed on the cover of a book
a wheel tool used to impress such lines

another name for fairing 1

verb -lets, -leting or -leted (tr)

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

to cut fillets from (meat or fish)

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

to bind or decorate with or as if with a fillet

Also (for senses 1–3): filet

Word Origin for fillet

C14: from Old French filet, from fil thread, from Latin fīlum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fillet

Origin of fillet

Words nearby fillet

Words related to fillet

How to use fillet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fillet

Word Origin for fillet