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

And, it pays homage to writer and chef Alison Roman, whose famed shallot pasta calls for a tin of anchovy fillets.

From Salon

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

The former president filleted him with cool disdain.

From Los Angeles Times

In this recipe at Food & Wine, David Chang "pulverizes the kombu to a powder and blends it with softened butter to baste striped bass fillets."

From Salon

At fish counters across Long Island, imported salmon fillets glisten in greater profusion than local mackerel and black sea bass.

From New York Times

Related Words

• fish
• meat
• slice