fleece

[flees]

See more synonyms for fleece on Thesaurus.com

noun

the coat of wool that covers a sheep or a similar animal.
the wool shorn from a sheep at one shearing.
something resembling a fleece: a fleece of clouds in a blue sky.

a fabric with a soft, silky pile, used for warmth, as for lining garments.
the soft nap or pile of such a fabric.

verb (used with object), fleeced, fleec·ing.

to deprive of money or belongings by fraud, hoax, or the like; swindle: He fleeced the stranger of several dollars.
to remove the fleece of (a sheep).
to overspread, as with a fleece; fleck with fleecelike masses: a host of clouds fleecing the summer sky.

Origin of fleece

before 1000; Middle English flees, Old English flēos, flȳs; cognate with Middle Dutch vlies, Middle High German vlius, German Vlies

Related formsfleece·a·ble, adjectivefleece·less, adjectivefleece·like, adjectivefleec·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for fleecing

cheat, gouge, overcharge, defraud, swindle, shaft, rook, clip, rob, burn, pluck, milk, flimflam, rifle, hustle, mulct, strip, despoil, cozen, bleed

Examples from the Web for fleecing

Contemporary Examples of fleecing

He even remembered to thank the voters and admonish cellphone companies for fleecing his fans.
Mohammed Assaf: From Underdog to Idol
Maysoon Zayid
June 25, 2013

Historical Examples of fleecing

It was beastly to think of fleecing the girls, don't you know.
The History of Sir Richard Calmady
Lucas Malet
Commend me to the French hotel-proprietor for fleecing you in cold blood.
An Englishman in Paris
Albert D. (Albert Dresden) Vandam
And all the way, never a hotel for the fleecing of the foreigner!
Sweethearts at Home
S. R. Crockett
The house is then used for the fleecing of another novice; and so on.
Sober by Act of Parliament
Fred A. McKenzie
He said that fleecing me would be child's play for the merest beginner.
A Top-Floor Idyl
George van Schaick

British Dictionary definitions for fleecing

fleece

noun

the coat of wool that covers the body of a sheep or similar animal and consists of a mass of crinkly hairs
the wool removed from a single sheep
something resembling a fleece in texture or warmth
sheepskin or a fabric with soft pile, used as a lining for coats, etc
a warm polyester fabric with a brushed nap, used for outdoor garments
a jacket or top made from such a fabric

verb (tr)

to defraud or charge exorbitantly; swindle
another term for shear (def. 1)

Word Origin for fleece

Old English flēos; related to Middle High German vlius, Dutch vlies fleece, Latin plūma feather, down

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

Word Origin and History for fleecing

fleece

1530s in the literal sense of "to strip a sheep of fleece;" 1570s in the figurative meaning "to cheat, swindle," from fleece (n.). Related: Fleeced; fleecing.

fleece

Old English fleos, from West Germanic *flusaz (cf. Middle Dutch vluus, Dutch vlies, Middle High German vlius, German Vlies), probably from PIE *pleus- "to pluck," also "a feather, fleece" (cf. Latin pluma "feather, down," Lithuanian plunksna "feather").