fillet

[fil-it, 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 called: fillet 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 called: fillet 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 called: listel.  list. the top member of a cornice

9. Technical name: lemniscus. anatomy a band of sensory nerve fibres in the brain connected to the thalamus

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

When it gets too hot, they simply remove the fillets from their online store.

From Salon

The perfectly red fillet cut sizzles in the pan, its juices releasing a meaty aroma.

From BBC

The dish - usually prepared with a long strip of fillet steak, wrapped in pastry and mushrooms - was something Ms Patterson's mother made when she was a child, to mark special occasions, she said.

From BBC

That includes topping salads with tinned smoked salmon marinated in extra virgin olive oil, umami-fying pastas with anchovy fillets à la Alison Roman or topping toast with butter and rainbow trout.

From Salon

Alison Roman’s famous Caramelized Shallot Pasta calls for a tin of anchovy fillets.

From Salon

Related Words

• fish 
• meat 
• slice