fleece
/fliːs
/noun
1The woolly covering of a sheep or goat: as the sheep came on board, we grabbed their long shaggy fleeces [mass noun]: he clutched the ram by two handfuls of thick fleece...
- Goats feel the cold and dislike damp and wet as they don't have thick fleeces like sheep or tough hide like cows.
- The higher the altitude and the colder the climate, the fleece of the goats is softer and thicker and conducive to be used for shawls.
- Classed as a primitive breed, they bear little resemblance to more common types of sheep with thick white fleeces.
1.1The wool shorn from a sheep in a single piece at one time: the shed can be used for storing fleeces...
- The heavy fleece shorn from these lambs is of exceptional quality and very, very soft.
- These padded garments, now known as gambesons, were made by sewing fleeces, raw wool or layers of woollen cloth between two layers of linen, felt or leather.
- Before the hard times, she had simply sold her fleeces to the British Wool Board.
Synonyms
wool, coat, hair, fur, pelt
1.2 Heraldry A representation of a fleece suspended from a ring.
2 [mass noun] A soft warm fabric with a texture similar to sheep’s wool, used as a lining material: [as modifier]: a reversible fleece jacket...
- Fusing American Indian imagery with functional fleece, cotton and Lycra, she produces snow boarding hats, tops and coats in earthy shades.
- How important a role does polar or micro fleece play in your outerwear line?
- I hardly noticed the chill in the air through my jacket and layers of fleece as a light rain began to fall, and the liquid movement of my paddle made me feel completely at one with the water.
2.1A jacket or other garment made from a fleece fabric.For the first time, the contract will involve the supply of the entire Garda uniform, including a blouson jacket with zip-in fleece, shirts, trousers and boots....
- He was ‘scruffy’, wearing a dark jacket, grey fleece, hat and khaki trousers.
- He is 30 minutes late and hardly cuts an imposing figure, dressed shabbily in an old pair of tracksuit bottoms and trainers, polo shirt and fleece.
verb [with object]
1 informal Obtain a great deal of money from (someone), typically by overcharging or swindling them: the city’s cab drivers are notorious for fixing fares and fleecing tourists...
- Whilst I found it all a bit depressing to see yet another way to fleece people of their money, my seven year old really likes it.
- Should I tell him that he is crazy or should I say nothing and let her fleece him of his money?
- This type of spam - which fleeces people by tricking them into calling a premium-rate number - is no longer a relatively small-scale concern, claimed the watchdog.
2 literary Cover as if with a fleece: the sky was half blue, half fleeced with white clouds
Origin
Old English flēos, flēs, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch vlies and German Vlies.