flesh and blood

noun

: corporeal nature as composed of flesh and of blood

: near kindred

—used chiefly in the phrase one's own flesh and blood

: substance, reality

Examples of flesh and blood 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.

The government’s rejection of its citizens’ efforts for change is personal to him—as devastating and painful, the film suggests, as having a father turn against his own flesh and blood. —

Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024 An opponent that feels no pain or fear, and who is immune to gunfire, is not like one made of flesh and blood. —

David Hambling, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024 Although flesh and blood, Harari is Silicon Valley’s ideal of what a chatbot should be. —

Daniel Immerwahr, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024 The execution-style murders of a young man and woman from the Lower East Side were the brutal cost of a senseless gang war, but the killers also had a personal motive — vengeance for the killing of their own flesh and blood, according to law enforcement sources. —

John Annese, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for flesh and blood

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of flesh and blood was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Flesh and blood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flesh%20and%20blood. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

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