fibre

American  

[fahy-ber] / ˈfaɪ bər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a variant of fiber.

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fibre British  

/ ˈfaɪbə /

noun

1. a natural or synthetic filament that may be spun into yarn, such as cotton or nylon

2. cloth or other material made from such yarn

3. a long fine continuous thread or filament

4. the structure of any material or substance made of or as if of fibres; texture

5. essential substance or nature

   all the fibres of his being were stirred

6. strength of character (esp in the phrase moral fibre )

7. See dietary fibre

8. botany

   1. a narrow elongated thick-walled cell: a constituent of sclerenchyma tissue

   2. such tissue extracted from flax, hemp, etc, used to make linen, rope, etc

   3. a very small root or twig

9. anatomy any thread-shaped structure, such as a nerve fibre

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Other Word Forms

• fibred adjective
• fibreless adjective

Etymology

Origin of fibre

C14: from Latin fibra filament, entrails

Example Sentences

She suggested I increase my fibre intake - either by eating more oats, barley, beans, nuts and seeds, or by taking supplements of gel-forming fibre.

From BBC

Their shape is reminiscent of fibres or spaghetti.

From Science Daily

Surveys indicate these industrially-manufactured foods are on the rise in diets around the world, worsening the quality of what we eat with too much sugar and unhealthy fats and a lack of fibre and protein.

From BBC

"This isn't toilet paper" he says as the wipe slowly breaks apart into fibres while he stirs the water inside an tank.

From BBC

Asbestos, once widely used in building materials, can release toxic fibres into the air if disturbed or processed that can cling to the lungs and - over decades - cause cancer.

From BBC