fabric

[fab-rik]

noun

1. a cloth made by weaving, knitting, or felting fibers.

   woolen fabrics.

2. the texture of the woven, knitted, or felted material.

   cloth of a soft, pliant fabric.

3. framework; structure.

   the fabric of society.

4. a building; edifice.

5. the method of construction.

6. the act of constructing, especially of a church building.

7. the maintenance of such a building.

8. Petrography.,  the spatial arrangement and orientation of the constituents of a rock.

fabric

/ ˈfæbrɪk /

noun

1. any cloth made from yarn or fibres by weaving, knitting, felting, etc

2. the texture of a cloth

3. a structure or framework

   the fabric of society

4. a style or method of construction

5. rare,  a building

6. the texture, arrangement, and orientation of the constituents of a rock

Word History and Origins

Origin of fabric¹

1475–85; (< Middle French fabrique ) < Latin fabrica craft, especially metalworking or building, workshop. See forge ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of fabric¹

C15: from Latin fabrica workshop, from faber craftsman

Example Sentences

Rob Barr said the two Sussex pubs he owned had "supported local communities" and "fed into the fabric of Britain" for centuries, but needed help to survive.

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Costelloe often used traditional Irish fabrics and textiles in his designs, including Irish linen and tweed.

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Netherlandish painting is renowned, in part, for its masterly representation of fine fabrics, ornate glass and other sumptuous materials.

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The wind “lofted a 12-foot segment of chain link fence with privacy fabric and threw it 70 feet across parking lot,” the weather service said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Hard to know what she’ll appreciate more: the peaceful slumber or the practical drawstring bag constructed in the same silky fabric as the mask and scrunchie.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fiber 
• goods 
• textile 
• texture