pound of flesh

noun phrase

: a payment or penalty exacted to fulfill a deal or punishment
loan sharks taking their pound of flesh

Examples of pound of flesh in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Access To Capital Businesses also need capital, but securing financing through traditional channels often involves lengthy approval processes, high fees and multiple intermediaries—a pound of flesh, in other words. Art Malkov, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025 In response, governors of Democratic states have threatened to take their own pound of flesh, with California's Gavin Newsom, New York's Kathy Hochul, and Illinois' JB Pritzker all promising to redraw their own states' already-small Republican districts if Texas goes ahead. Amanda Castro hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025 The Paramount Global experience shows that will come only after Trump exacts his pound of flesh. Brent Lang, Variety, 9 July 2025 But watching two icons of the ’90s and early aughts duke it out over a bloody pound of flesh? Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Mar. 2025 But his big men’s efforts have not come without its pound of flesh or occasional foul troubles. Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pound of flesh was in 1827

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Cite this Entry

“Pound of flesh.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pound%20of%20flesh. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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