flesh
(flĕsh)
[Middle English, from Old English flǣsc.]
noun
- The soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate, covering the bones and consisting mainly of skeletal muscle and fat.
- The surface or skin of the human body.
- The meat of animals as distinguished from the edible tissue of fish or fowl.
- Botany The pulpy, usually edible part of a fruit or vegetable.
- Excess fatty tissue; plumpness.
- The body as opposed to the mind or soul.
- The physical or carnal nature of humankind.
- Sensual appetites.
- Humankind in general; humanity.
- One's family; kin.
- Substance; reality: “The maritime strategy has an all but unstoppable institutional momentum behind it . . . that has given force and flesh to the theory” (Jack Beatty)
verb: fleshed, flesh·ing, flesh·es.
transitive verb
- To give substance or detail to; fill out: fleshed out the novel with a subplot.
- To clean (a hide) of adhering flesh.
- To encourage (a falcon, for example) to participate in the chase by feeding it flesh from a kill.
- To inure to battle or bloodshed.
- To plunge or thrust (a weapon) into flesh.
intransitive verb
- To become plump or fleshy; gain weight.
idioms
- in the flesh
- Alive. In person; present.
derivatives
- flesh́less
- adjective
