Flesh out means adding useful detail to a thin idea or draft. The starting point may be an outline or rough plan, and the phrase is common in feedback on plans, decks, and proposals. It also appears in several grammar forms.
The examples group those forms by use, including requests, passive comments, and adjectives for a detailed result.
Quick check
Which request sounds natural?
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Learn "Flesh Out" in depth →Direct request, with a pronoun object
Manager comment on a draft: "Good start -- now flesh it out with a few concrete numbers before Thursday."
Slack message: "Can you flesh this out a bit more? Right now it's just three bullet points."
Peer feedback: "I like the direction. Flesh it out and send me the next version."
With a pronoun, put it between "flesh" and "out," because the form "flesh out it" is not standard English.
Direct request, with a full noun phrase
Editorial note: "Please flesh out the second section before we share this with the client."
Alternate order, short object: "Flesh the intro out a bit -- it ends too abruptly."
With a full noun phrase, both orders are correct. Keeping the words together ("flesh out the second section") is often more natural, especially with a long object.
Try it yourself
Give concise draft feedback
The "with" collocation
Coaching note: "This case study needs to be fleshed out with real numbers, not just a general description of the results."
Proposal review: "Flesh out the roadmap with specific dates -- right now it just says 'Q3' and 'Q4.'"
"With" often names what you add, such as data, examples, dates, or other details.
Passive voice, flagging missing work
Status update: "The pricing section hasn't been fleshed out yet -- we'll have it ready for the review on Friday."
Meeting note: "The roadmap will be fleshed out during the offsite next week."
Passive voice can mark work as incomplete without naming the person responsible.
The fleshed-out adjective
Approval comment: "Send it back once it's fully fleshed out -- right now it's still too thin to share externally."
Recommendation: "This is a well-fleshed-out proposal. I have no notes on the level of detail."
After "be," the phrase has no hyphen ("the plan is fleshed out"), but before a noun, use a hyphen ("a fully fleshed-out plan").
What these examples have in common
Each sentence refers to work that needs more useful detail, while the grammar changes with the purpose. A direct request takes a pronoun or noun object, and the word "with" names the added material. A passive form marks missing work, while an adjective describes a detailed result. These forms make "flesh out" a flexible verb phrase.
Practice scenarios
Practice using flesh out in situations like:
- giving feedback on a draft that's directionally right but too thin
- flagging incomplete work in a status update without naming who's responsible
- describing a finished, detailed proposal using the adjective form
Useful practice phrases:
- "Flesh it out with a few concrete numbers before Thursday."
- "This section hasn't been fleshed out yet."
- "Send it back once it's fully fleshed out."
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Start the "Flesh Out" learning path →The grammar around "flesh out" changes by use, but its basic meaning stays the same.