flesh out (something)

to explain something more completely.

She sketches a character's outline in just a few words and then vividly fleshes out her portrait as the book goes along.

Etymology: based on the idea of adding flesh to a picture that shows only the bones of a creature

• in over your head
• in own right
• in perpetuity
• in person
• in place
• in pocket
• in point of fact
• in practice
• in prime
• in principle
• in print
• in progress
• in question
• inquire into
• inquire into something
• in reality
• in reduced circumstances
• in reference to
• in reference to something
• in relation to
• in relation to something
• in reserve
• in retrospect
• in return
• in return for