fleece

[ flees ]

/ flis /

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.

Nearby words

fledge, fledged, fledgling, fledgy, flee, fleece, fleece-vine, fleeced, fleecie, fleecy, fleein'

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
The Sirdar strongly objected to our interpreters, who were preventing him from fleecing us in the matter of stores and supplies.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
"Why, it is a fleecing of one," retorted the welsher savagely, even amid his successes.
Under Two Flags|Ouida [Louise de la Ramee]
Violations of the criminal law and the various forms of sweating and fleecing one's fellow-men come under this category.
The Unexpurgated Case Against Women Suffrage|Almroth E. Wright

He said that fleecing me would be child's play for the merest beginner.
A Top-Floor Idyl|George van Schaick
The giant came headlong, and there he is fleecing his head and neck in the thorns.
Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales|Various

British Dictionary definitions for fleecing

fleece

/ (fliːs) /

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 (1 of 2)

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.

Word Origin and History for fleecing (1 of 2)

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").

fleece

noun

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

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of fleece

Examples from the Web for fleecing

British Dictionary definitions for fleecing

fleece

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for fleece

Word Origin and History for fleecing (1 of 2)

fleece

Word Origin and History for fleecing (1 of 2)

fleece