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

To its credit, “Kissinger” quotes flesh and blood humans recounting some of the horrors Nixon and Kissinger’s policies visited on other nations, such as Cambodia and Bangladesh.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025

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

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

From Slate • Sep. 23, 2024

She loved those children as if they were her own flesh and blood, although sometimes she would call them by the names of those long dead.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman