flesh out

British  

verb

1. (tr) to give substance to (an argument, description, etc)

2. (intr) to expand or become more substantial

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flesh out Idioms  

1. Also, put flesh on the bones of. Give substance to, provide with details, amplify. For example, The editor told her to flesh out the story, or You need to put flesh on the bones of these characters. This metaphoric expression, alluding to clothing a nude body or adding flesh to a skeleton, was in the mid-1600s put simply as to flesh, the adverb out being added about two centuries later.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flesh out

They spray confetti into the audience to punctuate their biggest songs, and add an honorary fifth member, Ryan Malcolm, to flesh out their sound with swells of keyboard and additional rhythm guitar.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Perhaps he’ll flesh out his views a bit more, but don’t count on a major reveal.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

Scenes flesh out a lineup of predatory city characters, from an obsessive building superintendent to a scheming nightclub impresario.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Perry’s tangled love for her mother finds full expression in the film’s final act, in which she assembles musicians and backing vocalists to flesh out “What Lies With You,” written after her mother’s death.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

As I flesh out the day’s register, as I am tonight, I feel as if I am desperately prospecting for an alibi, one mine more than Kwang’s.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• add to
• appreciate
• augment
• boost
• build up
• complement
• enlarge
• heighten
• increase
• intensify
• raise
• reinforce
• strengthen
• upgrade