fabric

American  

[fab-rik] / ˈfæb rɪk /

noun

• fabrics
  plural

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.

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fabric British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fabrics
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of fabric

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fabric fabrics

"A national and international icon, her legacy is woven into the fabric of our history," they also said.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Sales of beauty products, grooming and fabric and home care increased the most.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Last season, he had James to lean on, Marcus Smart was steady and Rui Hachimura was part of the fabric.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

Over the course of four minutes, the robot fumbled with the towel’s floppy and unwieldy shape as it slowly smoothed out the fabric, located the corners and lined up the edges.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

He unrolled a huge piece of blue-and-gray fabric and held it up.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

The strategy involves price hikes, higher-quality fabrics and explicit messaging about how it draws instead from luxury and vintage fashion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The four metre by seven metre artwork was sewn and glued by a small team led by the artist, who usually works with vintage fabrics.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Ali likes to use expansive spaces and incorporate fabrics and textiles, whether it’s a red, sequin-covered chador or a tubular-looking worm made out of polyester, Lycra and spandex.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

"I've always been excited about fabrics and textiles, and what we can engineer and build with them," said Mahadevan, who began working in Bertoldi's lab as an undergraduate.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

I made piles of light, dark, and bright fabrics and one pile I thought was too ugly for keeping.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

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Related Words

• fiber
• goods
• textile
• texture

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