fib

[ fib ]

/ fɪb /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: fib / fibbing / fibber on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small or trivial lie; minor falsehood.

verb (used without object), fibbed, fib·bing.

to tell a fib.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of fib

1560–70; short for fibble-fable nonsense, gradational compound based on fable

synonym study for fib

1. See falsehood.

OTHER WORDS FROM fib

fibber, fibster, nounun·fib·bing, adjective

Words nearby fib

fiasco, fiat, fiat justitia, ruat caelum, fiat lux, fiat money, fib, fiber, fiberboard, fiber bundle, fibered, fiberfill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use fib in a sentence

There is the requisite moment when they read their wedding license and realize for the first time both had been telling fibs about their real age.
Cindy McCain Opens Up — On Her Terms|Philip Elliott|April 27, 2021|Time
When her friends would go to the movies, Nadia had to fib about her whereabouts in order to tag along.
Want This Woman to Lie About Herself? You Can Just Burq Off!|Moral Courage|March 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Despite Eban's fib, Raz concludes that Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser wasn't ready to negotiate with Israel.
No, Israel Didn't Offer to Trade the West Bank for Peace in 1967|Gershom Gorenberg|July 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It started with a fib to her family after her first year of college in Saudi Arabia.
Rebel With a Cause|Abigail Pesta|October 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST

With all sides conceding Anthony was a liar, her fate now hangs on which fib the jury buys.
Casey Anthony's Lies|Diane Dimond|May 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Don't fib; brace up and make a clean breast of it, and if you need advice I am full of it.
The Story of the Big Front Door|Mary Finley Leonard
"It was to tease you," said John, who understood at once and who was willing to fib in a good cause.
The Hosts of the Air|Joseph A. Altsheler
It is a positive joy to meet a man who had rather appear uncivil than coin a polite fib.
The Terms of Surrender|Louis Tracy
You've been telling me a great big fib, because there are the soldiers coming back again.
In Camp With A Tin Soldier|John Kendrick Bangs
Amphibology, am-fib-ol′o-ji, n. the use of ambiguous phrases or such as can be construed in two senses.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for fib

fib

/ (fɪb) /

noun

a trivial and harmless lie

verb fibs, fibbing or fibbed

(intr) to tell such a lie

Derived forms of fib

fibber, noun

Word Origin for fib

C17: perhaps from fibble-fable an unlikely story; see fable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012