fabricate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
fabricates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fabricated,
past participle, past
-
fabricating
present participle
-
to make by art or skill and labor; construct.
The finest craftspeople fabricated this clock.
-
to make by assembling parts or sections.
-
to devise or invent (a legend, lie, etc.).
-
to fake; forge (a document, signature, etc.).
verb
-
to make, build, or construct
-
to devise, invent, or concoct (a story, lie, etc)
-
to fake or forge
Synonym Usage
See manufacture.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fabricatesimple
-
fabricatessimple
-
have fabricatedperfect
-
has fabricatedperfect
-
am fabricatingprogressive
-
are fabricatingprogressive
-
is fabricatingprogressive
-
have been fabricatingperfect progressive
-
has been fabricatingperfect progressive
Past
-
fabricatedsimple
-
had fabricatedperfect
-
was fabricatingprogressive
-
were fabricatingprogressive
-
had been fabricatingperfect progressive
Future
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
County’s district attorney and the State Bar after The Times reported last fall that some of its clients said they’d been paid to sue, and, in some cases, fabricate their claims against the county.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
"This nonequilibrium fabrication approach enables us to fabricate materials from alloy vapor to a solid, introducing a significant number of dislocations in CoAl," Zhang said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
That’s most likely to happen not because you’re stupid or greedy, but because you’re vulnerable—and because the con artist knows exactly how to fabricate trustworthiness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
AI models “hallucinate,” meaning they routinely fabricate information, without any sign that the answers could be made up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Much more difficulty came from the necessity to fabricate representations of the inorganic ions.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, fabricates roughly 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Exiled by Astoria to the garage, Hampton fabricates his special drill as the family watches from afar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Now his custom-made creations, which he designs and fabricates after work in his garage in Port Chester, N.Y., are featured in those same lowrider magazines.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2024
To print a new material from scratch, one must typically set up to 100 parameters in software that controls how the printer will extrude the material as it fabricates an object.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 2024
She is very active in her movements, and fabricates numerous useful and ornamental articles, which she disposes of for her mother's benefit.
From The Englishwoman in America by Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird
Prosecutors alleged she altered other women’s ultrasound images to make them look like hers, fabricated a pregnancy video, bought hormone injections that could affect pregnancy-test results and repeatedly lied under oath.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
One fake of Julia Roberts layered fabricated audio over a 2023 Gucci campaign.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
The deal that collapsed on Aug. 21 would have cut the Section 232 tariff on Canadian primary aluminum from 50% to 25% — with fabricated aluminum products expected to receive the same treatment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
“To Share a Stomach” at the Brick features works envisioned by 25 Iranian artists that were fabricated with varying degrees of collaboration by 24 counterparts in the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
WorldCom and Global Crossing fabricated billions of dollars in revenues to pump up their stock prices.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Some of the previously unreported incidents included models concealing or fabricating information, the ChatGPT-maker said in a blog post on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He became embarrassed after he was caught fabricating or embellishing stories about playing college baseball, responding to protest scenes and an award he won in the police academy, according to the motion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
The White House isn’t accusing the Times of fabricating a story about the plane’s vulnerabilities.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Santos, who was elected as a Republican from a New York district, is known for fabricating his life story to win public office and was expelled from the House in 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Some were in so far over their heads that they resorted to invention, fabricating preposterous stories or quotations out of thin air.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
