Definition

1. Noun:

   • A narrow strip of material: A thin band, often of ribbon, fabric, or metal, used for binding, tying, or as a decorative headband.
   • A boneless piece of meat or fish: A longitudinal slice of meat, especially beef or fish, from which the bones have been removed.
   • A thin, flat molding: In architecture and design, a narrow, flat band used for separation or decoration on a surface.
   • A bundle of nerve fibers: In anatomy, a specific bundle of sensory nerve fibers traveling to the thalamus in the brain.

2. Verb:

   • To remove bones from meat or fish: To cut and prepare a piece of meat or fish by taking out the bones.
   • To decorate with a thin strip: To adorn or finish with a narrow, flat band or molding.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • She wore a simple velvet fillet in her hair.
  • For dinner, we had a salmon fillet with lemon butter sauce.
  • The carpenter added a wooden fillet between the two panels.

• Verb:

  • Can you fillet this trout for me?
  • The craftsman will fillet the edge of the table with a brass strip.

Advanced Usage

• "Fillet weld": In metalworking, a type of weld used to join two surfaces (typically at a right angle) along their length.

  • The strength of the joint depends on the quality of the fillet weld.

• "Fillet of beef/veal": A specific, premium cut of meat, often from the tenderloin.

  • The menu featured a grilled fillet of beef with a red wine reduction.

Variants and Related Words

• Filet: An alternative spelling, especially common in American English (e.g., ).
• Filleting: The gerund or present participle of the verb, referring to the action of removing bones.

Synonyms

• Noun (strip): Band, strip, ribbon.
• Noun (meat): Boneless cut, steak (for beef), side (for fish).
• Verb (prepare meat): Bone, debone.

Related Phrases

• To fillet out: To remove something cleanly and precisely, often used metaphorically.
  • The lawyer filleted out the key arguments from the complex document.

Related Idioms

(No common idioms are centrally built around the word "fillet".)

Noun

1. fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members
2. a narrow headband or strip of ribbon worn as a headband
3. a bundle of sensory nerve fibers going to the thalamus
4. a longitudinal slice or boned side of a fish
5. a boneless steak cut from the tenderloin of beef

Verb

1. cut into filets
   • filet the fish
2. decorate with a lace of geometric designs