Library / English Dictionary

FLEECE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Outer coat of especially sheep and yaks

Synonyms:

fleece; wool

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("fleece" is a kind of...):

coat; pelage (growth of hair or wool or fur covering the body of an animal)

Derivation:

fleece (shear the wool from)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A soft bulky fabric with deep pile; used chiefly for clothing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("fleece" is a kind of...):

cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)

Derivation:

fleecy ((of fabrics) having soft nap produced by brushing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Tanned skin of a sheep with the fleece left on; used for clothing

Synonyms:

fleece; sheepskin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("fleece" is a kind of...):

leather (an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fleece"):

Golden Fleece (in Greek mythology, a fleece of gold owned by the king of Colchis and guarded in a sacred grove by a dragon; recovered by Jason and the Argonauts)

Derivation:

fleece (shear the wool from)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The wool of a sheep or similar animal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("fleece" is a kind of...):

wool (fiber sheared from animals (such as sheep) and twisted into yarn for weaving)

Derivation:

fleece (shear the wool from)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shear the wool from

Example:

shear sheep

Synonyms:

fleece; shear

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "fleece" is one way to...):

shave; trim (cut closely)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fleece (outer coat of especially sheep and yaks)

fleece (tanned skin of a sheep with the fleece left on; used for clothing)

fleece (the wool of a sheep or similar animal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Rip off; ask an unreasonable price

Synonyms:

fleece; gazump; hook; overcharge; pluck; plume; rob; soak; surcharge

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "fleece" is one way to...):

cheat; chisel; rip off (deprive somebody of something by deceit)

"Fleece" entails doing...:

bill; charge (demand payment)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fleece"):

extort; gouge; rack; squeeze; wring (obtain by coercion or intimidation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They fleece him of all his money

Credits