flesh and blood

American  

noun

1. offspring or relatives.

   one's own flesh and blood.

2. the human body or nature.

   more than flesh and blood can endure.

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flesh and blood Idioms  

1. 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]

2. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of flesh and blood

First recorded in 1200–50

Example Sentences

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

Behind the headlines and beyond the numbers, flesh and blood people are cut off from basic necessities, including food, clean water, and medical care.

From Salon • Aug. 3, 2025

First, the threats to the new evangelization are not of flesh and blood.

From Slate • Sep. 23, 2024

Something else slipped out of the pages, though, something breathing, a creature made of flesh and blood.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke