flesh out
phrasal verb
fleshed out; fleshing out; fleshes out
: to provide more information about (something) : to make (something) more complete by adding details
You need to flesh out your plan with more details.
She fleshes out the characters in her novels very well.
Examples of flesh out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Onstage, all this narrative retconning has a breezy behind-the-scenes cleverness, as if the story were being slyly fleshed out in the margins.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
Based on Suzanne Collins’s novel of the same name, the movie will pick up 40 years after the events of the 2023 prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and flesh out the traumatic backstory of Haymitch Abernathy, eventual mentor to Katniss Everdeen.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2025
The rise of Elphaba’s resentful sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) to governor of Oz, which twists her relationship with the munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater), feels a little rushed to flesh out her bitter embrace of the Wicked Witch of the East title.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Author Marie Léticée explores neocolonial culture clash and identity conflict themes and fleshes out a time and place not well‑represented in Guadeloupean literature.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
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Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
Based on Suzanne Collins’s novel of the same name, the movie will pick up 40 years after the events of the 2023 prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and flesh out the traumatic backstory of Haymitch Abernathy, eventual mentor to Katniss Everdeen.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2025
The rise of Elphaba’s resentful sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) to governor of Oz, which twists her relationship with the munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater), feels a little rushed to flesh out her bitter embrace of the Wicked Witch of the East title.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Author Marie Léticée explores neocolonial culture clash and identity conflict themes and fleshes out a time and place not well‑represented in Guadeloupean literature.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flesh out
Cite this Entry
“Flesh out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flesh%20out. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
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