fabric
Americannoun
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a cloth made by weaving, knitting, or felting fibers.
woolen fabrics.
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the texture of the woven, knitted, or felted material.
cloth of a soft, pliant fabric.
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framework; structure.
the fabric of society.
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a building; edifice.
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the method of construction.
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the act of constructing, especially of a church building.
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the maintenance of such a building.
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Petrography. the spatial arrangement and orientation of the constituents of a rock.
noun
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any cloth made from yarn or fibres by weaving, knitting, felting, etc
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the texture of a cloth
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a structure or framework
the fabric of society
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a style or method of construction
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rare a building
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the texture, arrangement, and orientation of the constituents of a rock
Etymology
Origin of fabric
1475–85; (< Middle French fabrique ) < Latin fabrica craft, especially metalworking or building, workshop. See forge 1
Explanation
Fabric is what something is made from, especially clothing. Silk is a common fabric, but you can also talk about "the fabric of society." The most common use of fabric is for clothes: for example, denim is the fabric used to make jeans. All clothes are made of some type or combination of fabrics. The basic structure of a building or a vehicle can also be called fabric, and non-physical things can be represented as fabric too. Metaphorically, you could say honesty is part of the fabric of friendship, or love is part of the fabric of family. Fabric is always the foundation or essence of something.
Vocabulary lists containing fabric
Sula
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"Familiar Places"
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Messenger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The company also announced its Scorpio X-Series 320 Lane Smart Fabric Switch on Tuesday — a chip that was developed to improve utilization and performance of large AI chip clusters.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
The company’s thesis is that AI agents will buy Microsoft seats en masse, and that its Fabric data analytics platform gives it an additional moat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Fabric, cut and color all serve the person wearing them, not the other way around.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2025
Fabric and cut really dictate what poses are possible.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2025
“Why are you so happy? Did you read the article? She’s basically putting a Fabric Barn in the SmartMart.”
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
