flay

[ fley ]
See synonyms for flay on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to strip off the skin or outer covering of.

  2. to criticize or scold with scathing severity.

  1. to deprive or strip of money or property.

Origin of flay

1
before 900; Middle English flen,Old English flēan; cognate with Middle Dutch vlaen,Old Norse flā

Other words for flay

Other words from flay

  • flayer, noun
  • un·flayed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use flay in a sentence

  • The Chicago Tribune took every chance to flay Truman, as The Wall Street Journal daily flays Obama.

    Obama’s Truman Moment | Harold Evans | September 9, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • He leaves us no illusions, and not only strips his subject, but flays it and shows the raw muscles beneath the skin.

    From Chaucer to Tennyson | Henry A. Beers
  • On the other hand, he who flays Marsias alive and visits the earth with plagues is also the healer of men.

    Among Famous Books | John Kelman
  • Sunshine and rain bring cuckoos from Spain, But the first cock of hay flays the cuckoo away.

    Rhymes Old and New | M.E.S. Wright
  • The ship cat and her kitten now appear and get about their toilets; next the barber comes and flays us on the breezy deck.

    Following the Equator, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
  • Now their struggle is of the sharpest, but the end of it is, that he flays off the whole of the strip along the back to the loins.

    The Story of Grettir The Strong | Translated by Eirikr Magnusson and William Morris

British Dictionary definitions for flay

flay

/ (fleɪ) /


verb(tr)
  1. to strip off the skin or outer covering of, esp by whipping; skin

  2. to attack with savage criticism

  1. to strip of money or goods, esp by cheating or extortion

Origin of flay

1
Old English flēan; related to Old Norse flā to peel, Lithuanian pl e šti to tear

Derived forms of flay

  • flayer, noun

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