From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfleecefleece1 /fliːs/ noun 1 HBATA[countable] the woolly coat of a sheep, especially the wool and skin of a sheep when it has been made into a piece of clothing2 DCC[uncountable] an artificial soft material used to make warm jackets3 [countable] British English a jacket made of this artificial material
Examples from the Corpus
fleece• In general, the same clothing was used underneath - Rhoval/Modal thermals and Polartec 200 fleece.• fleece-lined slippers• Early wills and inventories show records for fleece, flax and hemp in many areas.• Locally, fleece may be available from your garden centre but do check the quality and price before buying.• Thinsulate fleece: heat reflective fleece.• A lamb's fleece was sprawled in the middle of the stage.• The drawcords on the fleece and the Merlin sleeping bag pull in freely and close tightly if required.• Its white fleece runs on over her fingers.• Then they unrolled as a silver-white fleece, under the silent cold light of the moon.fleecefleece2 verb [transitive] informal CHEATto charge someone too much money for something, especially by tricking them→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
fleece• But nothing's worse than driving into an auto repair shop, sight unseen, and being fleeced.• The Crown Prosecution Service is seeking to seize up to £40m that he fleeced from 16,000 people.• She estimates he fleeced her of about £50,000 by tricking her into buying fake antiques.• She fleeced him for everything he had.• The Tsar, the landowner, Denikin's troops, and your Comrades all fleeced him.• Nevertheless, he thought Theo unduly alarmist in warning him that women like her were out to fleece him.• Authorities estimate at least 300 elderly couples were fleeced in the scheme.• Sturdy rogues intent on fleecing me, as I was them.• The technology is ready to roll and it's not like they've shied away in the past from fleecing motorists.• Some airport shops are accused of fleecing their customers, who don't have any choice but to use them.From Longman Business Dictionaryfleecefleece /fliːs/ verb [transitive] informal to charge someone too much money for something, usually by tricking themHe fleeced investors of more than $500,000 by selling the recording rights to songs he didn’t own.→ See Verb tableOrigin fleece1 Old English fleos