Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

flesh noun

¹ soft part of sb's body

ADJ. firm, smooth, soft, tender | pale, pink, white | bare, exposed | raw | torn | burning, burnt | rotting | living | dead | female, male | animal, human

VERB + FLESH touch | cut (into) His shirt was too small for him and cut into the tender flesh at his armpit. | strip, tear at/off Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. African hunting dogs will tear at the flesh of their victim until it is weak. | dig into, pierce (into), tear (into) Cook the duck until the juices run pale yellow when the flesh is pierced. The weapon tore into his flesh. | eat According to Greek mythology, the minotaur would only eat human flesh. | become, make sth (literary) In the Christian tradition, God is made flesh (= becomes human).

FLESH + VERB tingle My flesh tingled as I got out of the ice cold pool. | crawl, creep (both figurative) The scary story made his flesh creep (= made him feel afraid).

FLESH + NOUN wound The injury was only a flesh wound and would heal in ten days or so. | tone In the centre of the painting there is a woman painted in blues, reds and flesh tones (= colours used to paint human skin).

PREP. in the ~ Thousands of fans gathered to see the band in the flesh (= see the band in reality and not just in a picture).

PHRASES flesh and blood She wasn't a ghost. She was flesh and blood (= alive/real). | flesh and bone Babies are born not just as bundles of flesh and bone (= not simply living bodies without thoughts or feelings) but with already distinctive personalities. | the lusts/pleasures/sins/temptations of the flesh His moral sermons always denounced the lusts of the flesh (= the fulfilment of purely physical or sexual desires). | the smell of flesh the smell of rotting flesh

² soft part of fruit/vegetables

ADJ. soft | sweet | juicy

VERB + FLESH chop, cut Pare the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the stone. | scoop (out) Cut the melon in half, remove the seeds and scoop out the flesh.