flesh and blood
Americannoun
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offspring or relatives.
one's own flesh and blood.
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the human body or nature.
more than flesh and blood can endure.
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Human beings, especially with respect to their failings or weaknesses. For example, I can't do everything—I'm only flesh and blood . [c. 1600]
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one's own flesh and blood . One's blood relatives, kin, as in She can't cut her own flesh and blood out of her will . [c. 1300]
Etymology
Origin of flesh and blood
First recorded in 1200–50
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.
Does consciousness require flesh and blood to exist?
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
Dude No. 1 will always be Brady, a sixth-round pick now immortalized outside Gillette Stadium with a behemoth bronze statue that’s probably only a tick slower in the 40 than the flesh and blood original.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
Often, it's the first time a medical student works with real flesh and blood - an experience that can't be replicated from a textbook.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025
"There are two Elizabeth Taylors . . . One is flesh and blood, and one is cellophane."
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2024
Like, Okay, you haven’t been the best dad, but here you are now and you’re trying to make it up to me because I’m your flesh and blood and because I love you.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
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.
