fleecenoun/fliːs/

• 1

  Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal.

  • 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.
  • 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.
• 2

  Insulating skin with the wool attached.

• 3

  A textile similar to velvet, but with a longer pile that gives it a softness and a higher sheen.

• 4

  An insulating wooly jacket.

• 5

  businessconstructionmanufacturingMat or felts composed of fibers, sometimes used as a membrane backer.

• 6

  Any 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.
• 7

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

fleeceverb/fliːs/

• 1

  informalTo con or trick (someone) out of money.

  • There is a difference between bookmaking, an entirely respectable profession, and fleecing people, which isn’t.
• 2

  To 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.
• 3

  To cover with, or as if with, wool.