How to Use fillet in a Sentence

fillet

1 of 2 noun
  • There should be an inch or so of wood all the way around the fillet.
    — Chuck Blount, ExpressNews.com, 12 Oct. 2020
  • The length of the paper will vary with the fillet shape and size.
    — Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2021
  • Place the salmon fillet, skin side down, on a baking sheet with sides.
    — Elizabeth Karmel, Forbes, 27 Apr. 2022
  • Start with a quick sear, skin side up, then turn the fillets onto lemon slices.
    — Editors Of Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 June 2026
  • Don’t soak the fillets in water.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
  • This recipe leans back and lets the fillets do a lot of the work, flavor-wise.
    — Christopher Michel, Country Living, 27 Feb. 2023
  • Herring leads the pack with 1 gram per five-ounce fillet.
    — Matt Fuchs, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Add fish fillet, flesh side down (the side where the skin had been facing up).
    — Nicole Sours Larson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2020
  • To do so, run your finger down the center of the fillet.
    — Martha Stewart, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Place each fillet on one side of a piece of foil, then fold the other side up and over.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Melt it down with a few anchovy fillets and toss with fusilli.
    — Bon Appétit, 10 Apr. 2024
  • Divide the salad among four plates and top each with a salmon fillet.
    — Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2021
  • Slice the fillet and serve with the sauce and sautéed vegetables.
    — Beth Segal, cleveland, 1 Mar. 2021
  • The fillets should be a little damp, but not soaking wet.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
  • Don’t freeze northern pike fillets.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
  • Think salmon fillet and roast chicken, not hot dogs and chicken nuggets.
    — Katia Hetter, CNN, 22 Feb. 2024
  • This sheet pan fillet dressed with fresh orange, lime, and a shot of rice vinegar.
    — The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appétit, 5 Nov. 2020
  • With the fish still burning drag, Austin grabs his fillet knife and cuts the line.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 3 Aug. 2023
  • Shake off excess marinade and place the fillets, skin-side down, on the hot grill.
    — Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 14 June 2023
  • The edges of the fish fillet are crisp and golden, the sauce is glossy and feather-light.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
  • Here are a few tips from the Griz on how to catch, fillet, and cook northern pike.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
  • Don’t worry if the cod at the grocery store is sold as a single fillet.
    — Christopher Kimball, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Dec. 2022
  • Fish can be replaced with thin fillets of chicken or slabs of tofu.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Slide a few onto a sandwich, or simply add a pile of fillets to a snack board.
    — Sheela Prakash, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Aug. 2025
  • When oil is hot, arrange 2 fillets in skillet.
    — Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Fresh fish fillets and vegetables make an easy spring dinner for one, two, or more.
    — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The broiler is switched to high and in goes the salmon, collars, and fillet portions.
    — Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 17 Nov. 2022
  • Tasters agreed a meaty fillet was ideal—no wimpy, flaccid bites allowed.
    — Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Place each salmon fillet, skin side down, on a pair of lemon slices (fillets should not be touching the grate).
    — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 June 2026
  • The beef fillet with wild mushroom gratin and autumn black truffle is the stand-out – but take care.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 2 June 2026

fillet

2 of 2 verb
  • He carefully filleted the fish with a sharp knife.
  • The staff will not fillet the fish for you, as some restaurants do.
    — Sheryl Julian, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2019
  • Next, find the bird’s breast bone with your knife tip and start filleting away the breast.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 27 Dec. 2019
  • To serve, pour the sauce onto a plate and lay a walleye fillet on top.
    — Jamie Carlson, Outdoor Life, 12 Feb. 2020
  • Our children and neighbors’ kids flocked to its sides to learn to fillet fish.
    — Popular Mechanics, 30 June 2019
  • Fish are safe to eat as long as the flesh (only) is filleted away from the skin and washed.
    — Bill Monroe, OregonLive.com, 25 May 2018
  • Coat fillets all over with 3 Tbsp.
    — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 June 2026
  • Break flesh of top fillet into large pieces and transfer to a platter.
    — Bon Appetit, 19 May 2017
  • The salmon and steelhead are all filleted and sold at the market.
    — Corey Arnold, National Geographic, 27 Mar. 2019
  • Knife marks and charring on the bones suggest they were filleted and cooked.
    — Annalee Newitz, Ars Technica, 19 Nov. 2017
  • His other job, starting at age seven, was to fillet the catch.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 May 2026
  • Some anglers simply nip the spines off with kitchen shears, then fillet as usual.
    — Frank Sargeant, AL.com, 28 Mar. 2018
  • Lay a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet and place the salmon fillet skin-side down in the center.
    — Gabrielle Hamilton, House Beautiful, 14 Mar. 2012
  • The fish is filleted and frozen, and food banks and schools have to come to Portland to pick it up.
    — Joe Hernandez, NPR, 23 May 2026
  • Not to be missed is any fresh fish Wagner filleted that day.
    — Usa Today Network, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
  • One night five captains in five suits filleted five sole for five diners at a table next to mine.
    — Pete Wells, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2017
  • Simply fillet the meat off the thighbone and cut away the knuckle that’s attached to the meat.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 May 2020
  • With that in mind, cleaning or filleting your catch while still at sea or on the lake is largely frowned upon.
    — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026
  • Instead of filleting and moving on, take the time to explain each part and its function.
    — Popular Science, 1 Apr. 2020
  • Choose from shrimp, fish (whole and fillet), crab, and more, fished straight from the Gulf or imported from around the world.
    — Reviewed Staff and Laura Jazmin Tolliver, USA TODAY, 4 Dec. 2019
  • Yes, there’s a perfect way of roasting a chicken, filleting fish, of doing all these things.
    — Rachel King, Fortune, 30 June 2019
  • El Piquin offers chicken, beef or shrimp fajitas, or try the fish fillet ranchero or fish tacos.
    — Bud Kennedy, star-telegram, 16 May 2018
  • Divide fillets between two dinner plates.
    — Linda Gassenheimer, Boston Herald, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Here’s a linguini with salmon cream sauce recipe that makes use of the leftover, extra meat after filleting a fish.
    — Matthew Every, Outdoor Life, 26 Nov. 2019
  • Firefighters were on site to help skin and fillet fish that were caught by residents who wanted to take their catch home for dinner.
    — Patricia Dillon, Houston Chronicle, 17 Mar. 2018
  • The Barracuda can allow as many as six fishermen at one time to fillet fish and grind the bones, heads and guts.
    — cleveland, 6 Aug. 2021
  • Think classic beef Wellington, Dover sole cooked on the bone and filleted in the kitchen and caviar, caviar, caviar.
    — Amy Carr, chicagotribune.com, 30 Jan. 2018
  • This is the most fit person in the history of civilization’ they’d get filleted for it.
    — Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2019
  • McDonald has proposed that the leftovers after the fish are filleted be used as bait.
    — Andrew Hetherington, National Geographic, 1 May 2019
  • The Muckleshoot of Washington state have hosted workshops on how to fillet a salmon and slice up an elk.
    — Richard Mertens, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fillet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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