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flesh out

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flesh out

to become more fleshy. She began to flesh out at the age of thirteen. After his illness, Tom fleshed out and regained his strength.

See also: flesh, out

flesh something out (with something)

Fig. to make something more detailed, bigger, or fuller. This is basically a good outline. Now you'll have to flesh it out. The play was good, except that the author needed to flesh out the third act. It was too short.

See also: flesh, out

flesh out something

also flesh something out

to explain something more completely She sketches a character's outline in just a few words and then vividly fleshes out her portrait as the book goes along.

Etymology: based on the idea of adding flesh to a picture that shows only the bones of a creature

See also: flesh, out

flesh out

Also, put flesh on the bones of. Give substance to, provide with details, amplify. For example, The editor told her to flesh out the story, or You need to put flesh on the bones of these characters. This metaphoric expression, alluding to clothing a nude body or adding flesh to a skeleton, was in the mid-1600s put simply as to flesh, the adverb out being added about two centuries later.

See also: flesh, out

flesh out

v.

To fill in, enrich, or build on the content or structure of something: At the meeting, we fleshed out the plans for our trip. This paragraph is not specific enough—you should flesh it out.

See also: flesh, out