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.
And, finally, a pound of flesh in the form of Naz cutting off Nate’s pinky toe. — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2026 The Lightning wanted their pound of flesh from the Canadiens. — Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026 So your 20-pound watermelon with 14 pounds of flesh will yield 21 cups of fresh fruit. — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2026 Having paid its pound of flesh in the form of Paul Mescal’s Supporting Actor snub, Hamnet now looks a lot less threatening. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pound of flesh

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

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

Rhymes for pound of flesh

See All Rhymes for pound of flesh

Browse Nearby Words

pound netter
pound of flesh
pound out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pound of flesh.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pound%20of%20flesh. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All