fabric

American  

[fab-rik] / ˈfæb rɪk /

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.

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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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Etymology

Origin of fabric

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

Example Sentences

Since then, an October study published in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living showed just how much could be gained by a nearly imperceptible amount of extra fabric.

From The Wall Street Journal

Bat bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, pulling the collar of his shirt into his mouth and sucking on the fabric.

From Literature

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

From Literature

Even though she and other women are able to read, write, and keep ledgerbooks by this date, the complicated and often secret tinctures concocted for fabrics remain the province of men.

From Los Angeles Times

She shifted her attention to my hands, where I was yanking the thread with such tension that the fabric was puckering.

From Literature

Related Words

• fiber
• goods
• textile
• texture