fillet

[ fil-it; usually fi-ley ]

noun

1. Cooking.
   1. a boneless cut or slice of meat or fish, especially the beef tenderloin.
   2. a piece of veal or other meat boned, rolled, and tied for roasting.
2. a narrow band of ribbon or the like worn around the head, usually as an ornament; headband.
3. any narrow strip, as wood or metal.
4. a strip of any material used for binding.
5. Bookbinding.
   1. a decorative line impressed on a book cover, usually at the top and bottom of the back.
   2. a rolling tool for impressing such lines.
6. Architecture.
   1. Also called list. a narrow flat molding or area, raised or sunk between larger moldings or areas.
   2. a narrow portion of the surface of a column left between adjoining flutes.
7. Anatomy. lemniscus.
8. a raised rim or ridge, as a ring on the muzzle of a gun.
9. Metallurgy. a concave strip forming a rounded interior angle in a foundry pattern.

verb (used with object)

1. Cooking.
   1. to cut or prepare (meat or fish) as a fillet.
   2. to cut fillets from.
2. to bind or adorn with or as if with a fillet.
3. Machinery. to round off (an interior angle) with a fillet.

fillet

/ ˈfɪlɪt /

noun

1. 1. Also calledfillet steak a strip of boneless meat, esp the undercut of a sirloin of beef
   2. the boned side of a fish
   3. the white meat of breast and wing of a chicken
2. a narrow strip of any material
3. a thin strip of ribbon, lace, etc, worn in the hair or around the neck
4. a narrow flat moulding, esp one between other mouldings
5. a narrow band between two adjacent flutings on the shaft of a column
6. Also calledfillet weld a narrow strip of welded metal of approximately triangular cross-section used to join steel members at right angles
7. heraldry a horizontal division of a shield, one quarter of the depth of the chief
8. Also calledlistellist the top member of a cornice
9. anatomy a band of sensory nerve fibres in the brain connected to the thalamus Technical namelemniscus
10. 1. a narrow decorative line, impressed on the cover of a book
    2. a wheel tool used to impress such lines
11. another name for fairing 1

verb

1. to cut or prepare (meat or fish) as a fillet
2. to cut fillets from (meat or fish)
3. anatomy to surgically remove a bone from (part of the body) so that only soft tissue remains
4. to bind or decorate with or as if with a fillet

Word History and Origins

Origin of fillet¹

1300–50; Middle English filet < Anglo-French, Middle French, equivalent to fil thread + -et -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of fillet¹

C14: from Old French filet , from fil thread, from Latin fīlum

Example Sentences

One of my favorite things is shark and bake, which is a fried fillet of shark served in a piece of fry bread with a variety of condiments like chandon beni sauce and pepper sauce.

From Salon

"They were ordering T-bone steaks, fillet steaks, double desserts, they wanted two brownies on a plate," said Mr Cangelosi.

From BBC

These oily fish contain essential nutrients including calcium, B12 and omega-3 but some are lost from our diets when we just eat the salmon fillet.

From Science Daily

They found a decrease in six out of nine nutrients in the salmon fillet -- calcium, iodine, iron, omega-3, vitamin B12 and vitamin A, but increased levels of selenium and zinc.

From Science Daily

Both wild-caught and farmed salmon can be sustainable, but determining the environmental impact of a fillet isn't simple.

From Salon

Related Words

• fish
• meat
• slice