What does "flesh" mean?

1. (body tissue) the soft parts of the body between the skin and the bones, mostly muscle and fat. 2. (fruit/vegetables) the soft part of a fruit or vegetable that you can eat. 3. (the physical body) the human body and its physical desires, often compared to the mind or soul. 4. (skin) the surface of the human body; your skin. 5. (to remove tissue) to take the meat or fat off a skin or hide.

flesh — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01body tissue

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the soft parts of the body between the skin and the bones, mostly muscle and fat.

n. the soft substance of a human or animal body, consisting primarily of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue.

“The arrow had pierced the flesh of his shoulder but missed the bone.”

“The surgeon carefully retracted the layers of flesh to expose the underlying vascular structure during the emergency procedure.”

Synonyms

tissue muscle

Antonyms

bone skeleton

02fruit/vegetables

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Cooking

n. the soft part of a fruit or vegetable that you can eat.

n. the pulpy, edible part of a fruit or vegetable, distinct from the skin, seeds, or core.

“Cut the melon in half and scoop out the sweet orange flesh.”

“The recipe requires you to roast the eggplant until the flesh is tender enough to be mashed into a smooth paste.”

Synonyms

pulp

Antonyms

skin peelrind

03the physical body

C1 · Advanced Uncountable noun Religion Literary · Formal

n. the human body and its physical desires, often compared to the mind or soul.

n. the physical or mortal aspect of humanity, frequently contrasted with the spiritual or intellectual components.

“The monk believed that the spirit was strong but the flesh was weak.”

“In many theological traditions, the flesh represents the site of worldly temptation and the transient nature of mortal existence.”

Synonyms

body physique

Antonyms

spirit soul

04skin

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Literary

n. the surface of the human body; your skin.

n. the surface or skin of a human being, often used when describing sensation or appearance.

“She felt the cold wind against her bare flesh.”

“The silk fabric felt incredibly smooth against his flesh, a stark contrast to the rough wool he usually wore.”

Synonyms

skin epidermis

05to remove tissue

C2 · Proficiency Technology Technical

v. to take the meat or fat off a skin or hide.

v. to strip the flesh or fat from a hide during the tanning or leather-making process.

“The hunter used a sharp knife to flesh the deer hide before drying it.”

“Properly fleshing the pelt is a critical step in taxidermy to ensure the skin does not rot during the curing process.”

Synonyms

strip clean

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “flesh” in context.

Verb

01. flesh out the details

“The initial proposal was just a skeleton; we need to flesh out the details before the meeting.”

verb + noun

02. tear the flesh

“The jagged rocks were sharp enough to tear the flesh of anyone who fell.”

verb + noun

Adjective

03. firm flesh

“When choosing a melon, look for one with firm flesh and a sweet aroma.”

adj + noun

04. human flesh

“The artist was obsessed with capturing the realistic texture of human flesh in his oil paintings.”

adj + noun

Noun

05. flesh wound

“Luckily, the bullet only caused a minor flesh wound and missed the bone entirely.”

noun + noun

06. pound of flesh

“The bank is demanding its pound of flesh by charging exorbitant interest rates on the loan.”

noun + of + noun

Preposition

07. in the flesh

“I had seen her on television many times, but she looked much taller in the flesh.”

prep + noun

08. sins of the flesh

“The monk spent his life trying to resist the various sins of the flesh.”

noun + of + noun

“For centuries we’ve tended to separate mind from body, as though thoughts somehow floated free of the flesh that produced them.”

The Guardian 9 Aug 2026

“On Monday, the attacker’s father told the Guardian he still did not understand why his son did it, but was left to reckon with the violence his own flesh and blood had committed.”

The Guardian 12 Aug 2026

From Middle English flesh, flesch, flæsch, from Old English flǣsċ, from Proto-West Germanic flaiski, from Proto-Germanic flaiski, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁ḱ- (“to tear, peel off”). Cognates Cognate with Yola vleash, vlesh (“flesh”), North Frisian flaasch, flaosk, Fleesk, fleäsk, floask, flääsk, flååsch (“flesh, meat”), Saterland Frisian Flaask (“flesh, meat”), West Frisian fleis (“flesh, meat”), Cimbrian blòas, vlaisch, vlòas (“flesh, meat”), Dutch vlees, vleesch (“flesh, meat”), German Fleisch (“flesh, meat”), German Low German and Luxembourgish Fleesch (“flesh, meat”), Vilamovian fłaś (“meat; muscle”), Yiddish פֿלייש (fleysh, “flesh, meat”), Danish flæsk (“pork; bacon”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Norwegian Nynorsk flesk (“pork; bacon”), Swedish fläsk (“pork”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

flesh(C1)

ADJECTIVE

fleshy(C1)

carrion incarnate