fabricate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make by art or skill and labor; construct.
The finest craftspeople fabricated this clock.
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to make by assembling parts or sections.
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to devise or invent (a legend, lie, etc.).
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to fake; forge (a document, signature, etc.).
verb
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to make, build, or construct
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to devise, invent, or concoct (a story, lie, etc)
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to fake or forge
Related Words
See manufacture.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fabricate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin fabricātus “made,” past participle of fabricāre; see fabric, -ate 1
Explanation
Do you like to construct mini airplanes from kits? Work on an assembly line? Piece together Ikea furniture? Then you certainly know how to fabricate, or to put together, things. While fabricate might mean the physical act of construction, it can also mean constructing a falsehood. Watch out — those well versed in the art of fabrication might have an ulterior motive. In the movies, the bad cops sometimes fabricate evidence to make the good guy look guilty. When you tell the teacher the dog ate your homework, you’ve fabricated a pretty silly excuse. So if you’re going to fabricate the truth, get some better material!
Vocabulary lists containing fabricate
Advanced English Words
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Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
Andrew Glazer, director of the documentary on the 2018 disappearances, told AFP that Ramos is accused of paying actors to fabricate allegations against the military.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
"We see AI that's been used to manipulate images to look like they've been damaged in a certain way, even to create and fabricate documents that were never there in the first place."
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
In an announcement Tuesday, Intel said it would work with the companies to “design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Other materials are harder to fabricate in the required configurations, but they may allow excitons to remain stable at higher temperatures and without the need for a magnetic field.
From Science Daily • Feb. 5, 2026
On leaving home I was able to fabricate a new and far more satisfying history, frill of striking, simplistic environmental influences; a colorful past, easily accessible to strangers.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
