fleece

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)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.”

   “We carefully skirt and weigh each fleece, calculate shipping, and notify the buyer when the fleece is ready. Sound but more workaday fleeces are batched to make roving and yarn.”

2. (uncountable)Insulating skin with the wool attached.
3. (countable)A textile similar to velvet, but with a longer pile that gives it a softness and a higher sheen.
4. (countable)An insulating wooly jacket.
5. (countable, uncountable)Mat or felts composed of fibers, sometimes used as a membrane backer.
6. (countable, uncountable)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. (countable, uncountable)The fine web of cotton or wool removed by the doffing knife from the cylinder of a carding machine.

verb

1. (informal, transitive)To con or trick (someone) out of money.

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

2. (transitive)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. (transitive)To cover with, or as if with, wool.