fleece

plural fleeces

1. countableuncountableHair or wool of a sheep or similar animal.

   Wool became the substitute for money. […] In all the middle periods of British history, the fleece was the expression and the measure of national prosperity or calamity.

   1837, William Youatt, “Preface”, in Sheep: Their Breeds, Management and Diseases. […] (Library of Useful Knowledge), London: Baldwin and Cradock

   2 more examples

   The Sun ſhall change, the Moon to change ſhall ceaſe; / The Gaits to clim-----the Sheep to yield the Fleece, / Ere ought by me be either ſaid or done, / Shall do thee Wrang, I ſwear by all aboon.

   1730, Allan Ramsay, “[Act II, Scene IV]”, in The Gentle Shepherd: A Scots Paſtoral-Comedy, page 23

   We carefully skirt and weigh each fleece, calculate shipping, and notify the buyer when the fleece is ready. Sound but more workaday fleeces are batched to make roving and yarn.

   2026, Robin Nistock, quotee, “Makers Space”, in Spin Off, volume L, number 1, page 13

2. uncountableInsulating skin with the wool attached.
3. countableA textile similar to velvet, but with a longer pile that gives it a softness and a higher sheen.
4. countableAn insulating wooly jacket.
5. countableuncountablebusinessMat or felts composed of fibers, sometimes used as a membrane backer.
6. countableuncountableAny soft woolly covering resembling a fleece.

   Alas! in the morning the eaglet was gone; and, full of sorrow, they stooped to pick up the shining fleece with which the floor was spread. At their touch, every feather became a golden coin.

   1879 January, Ellis Clare, “The Christmas Eaglet”, in Ballou's Monthly Magazine, volume 49, number 1, Boston: Thomes & Talbot

7. countableuncountableThe fine web of cotton or wool removed by the doffing knife from the cylinder of a carding machine.

present singular third person fleeces · participle present fleecing · participle past fleeced · past fleeced

1. informaltransitiveTo con or trick (someone) out of money.

   There is a difference between bookmaking, an entirely respectable profession, and fleecing people, which isn’t.

   2015 August 2, “All bets are off: why bookmakers aren’t playing fair”, in The Observer, archived from the original on 21 Jan 2020

   Synonyms: swindle

2. transitiveTo cut off the fleece from (a sheep or other animal).

   During spring shearing we have to fleece all the sheep in just a few days.

   Synonyms: shear

3. transitiveTo cover with, or as if with, wool.