fleece /flɪjs/noun 7verb 3forms 3 noun7 •Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal.The Sun shall change, the Moon to change shall cease; / The Gaits to clim-----the Sheep to yield the Fleece, / Ere ought by me be either said or done, / Shall do thee Wrang, I swear by all aboon. — 1730 •An insulating wooly jacket. •Any soft woolly covering resembling a fleece.Alas! in the morning the eaglet was gone; and, full of sorrow, they stooped to pick up the shining fleece with which the floor was spread. At their touch, every feather became a golden coin. — 1879 •A textile similar to velvet, but with a longer pile that gives it a softness and a higher sheen. •Insulating skin with the wool attached. •Mat or felts composed of fibers, sometimes used as a membrane backer. •The fine web of cotton or wool removed by the doffing knife from the cylinder of a carding machine. verb3 •To cut off the fleece from (a sheep or other animal).During spring shearing we have to fleece all the sheep in just a few days. •(informal) To con or trick (someone) out of money.There is a difference between bookmaking, an entirely respectable profession, and fleecing people, which isn’t. — 2015 •To cover with, or as if with, wool. formsfleeced · fleecing · fleeces
