fabric
Americannoun
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fabrics
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, massive objects curve the fabric of spacetime.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
Caland worked constantly: on stretched canvas, on fabric folded in her lap, on a children’s menu, on the wall of her kitchen, or the sleeve of her smock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
"Since 1901, this football club has been part of the fabric of our city and the broader county of Sussex," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The airship’s 242 tons were lifted by more than 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen, held in 16 large fabric bags, or cells.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
That depended on so many things: What kind of fabric were you using?
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Pauline Dujancourt's London Fashion Week show epitomised this style - focusing on maximum volume and billowing fabrics.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
I was just in awe of Bob’s creative workshop with fabrics, sequins, rhinestones and sketches coming out of every corner of his workspace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Mahadevan sees additional opportunities for using multistability to create fabrics that combine softness, seamless construction and functionality.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
It is similar to the old-school, stiffer denim that was long used in jeans before denim makers started adding stretchier fabrics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
He almost lands with a perfect ten, but a child grabs Woo from the air and starts dressing him up with spare cloths and fabrics.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
