fillet
fillet Lexical Profile
fillet Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A fleshy, boneless cut of meat or fish, especially a tender strip of beef or pork taken from along the backbone or one of the two sides of a fish cut lengthwise away from the spine.
"The chef pan-seared the salmon fillet in olive oil with fresh herbs and lemon."
A rounded concave or convex transition between two intersecting surfaces in engineering and woodworking, or a narrow flat band separating moldings in classical architecture.
"The CAD designer added a small fillet to the interior corner of the bracket to reduce mechanical stress."
A narrow band, ribbon, or strip of material worn around the head to hold the hair in place or as an ornament.
"In classical antiquity, victorious athletes often wore a woolen fillet tied around their brows."
• verb
To remove the bones from a fish or cut of meat, or to slice meat or fish into boneless strips.
"The fishmonger skillfully filleted the sea bass in less than a minute."
To bind, adorn, orround off an edge or corner with a narrow strip or smooth concave transition (in architecture, woodworking, or computer-aided design).
"Make sure to fillet the sharp interior edges of the 3D model before sending it to the printer."
Word Nuance & Usage
In American English, the culinary senses are typically pronounced with a silent final 't' (/fɪˈleɪ/) and often spelled 'filet' for beef, whereas in British and Commonwealth English, all senses are pronounced with the final 't' sounded (/ˈfɪlɪt/).
• Rhymes for fillet
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old French 'filet' ('a thin thread or strip'), a diminutive of 'fil' ('thread'), from Latin 'filum'. The culinary sense arose from the practice of tying rolled cuts of meat with thread before roasting.