fiber

American  

[fahy-ber] / ˈfaɪ bər /

especially British, fibre

noun

1. a fine, threadlike piece, as of cotton, jute, or asbestos.

2. a slender filament.

   a fiber of platinum.

3. filaments collectively.

4. matter or material composed of filaments.

   a plastic fiber.

5. something resembling a filament.

6. an essential character, quality, or strength.

   people of strong moral fiber.

7. Botany.

   1. filamentous matter from the bast tissue or other parts of plants, used for industrial purposes.

   2. a slender, threadlike root of a plant.

   3. a slender, tapered cell which, with like cells, serves to strengthen tissue.

8. Anatomy, Zoology. a slender, threadlike element or cell, as of nerve, muscle, or connective tissue.

9. Also called bulk, dietary fiber, roughage.  Nutrition.

   1. the structural part of plants and plant products that consists of carbohydrates, as cellulose and pectin, that are wholly or partially indigestible and when eaten stimulate peristalsis in the intestine.

   2. food containing a high amount of such carbohydrates, as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

10. Chemistry. vulcanized fiber.

11. Optics. optical fiber.

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fiber British  

/ ˈfaɪbə /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of fibre

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fiber Scientific  

/ fī′bər /

1. The parts of grains, fruits, and vegetables that contain cellulose and are not digested by the body. Fiber helps the intestines absorb water, which increases the bulk of the stool and causes it to move more quickly through the colon.

2. One of the elongated, thick-walled cells, often occurring in bundles, that give strength and support to tissue in vascular plants. Fibers are one type of sclerenchyma cell.

3. Any of the elongated cells of skeletal or cardiac muscle, made up of slender threadlike structures called myofibrils.

4. The axon of a neuron.

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Other Word Forms

• fiberless adjective
• interfiber adjective

Etymology

Origin of fiber

1350–1400; 1970–75 fiber for def. 9; Middle English fibre (< Middle French ) < Latin fibra filament

Example Sentences

New products will be offered this year aimed at improving competitiveness and volume growth, with an increased focus on more quality and simpler ingredients, and in areas of hydration, whole grains, protein and fiber.

From MarketWatch

Artificial-intelligence companies are writing huge checks for chips, memory, specialized glass fiber and more, and they have begun to outduel Apple in the race to secure components.

From The Wall Street Journal

About 40 other members of his crew are sprinkled across this rural corner of Apache County, digging ditches, hanging fiber cables on utility poles and joining tiny fiber strands.

From The Wall Street Journal

Frontier expands Verizon’s fiber footprint, helping the company’s strategy of selling customers both mobile service and home internet.

From The Wall Street Journal

During the dot-com bubble, companies laid a lot of unused fiberoptic cables, or dark fiber, in anticipation of demand, and 95% of those stayed dark when the bubble burst.

From Barron's

Related Words

• grain
• thread
• tissue