fib

American

[fib] / fɪb /

noun

a small or trivial lie; minor falsehood.

verb (used without object)

fibbed, fibbing

to tell a fib.

fib British

/ fɪb /

noun

a trivial and harmless lie

"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

verb

(intr) to tell such a lie

"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

Related Words

See falsehood.

Other Word Forms

fibber noun
fibster noun
unfibbing adjective

Etymology

Origin of fib

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

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.

"Perhaps the starkest," Dr Rogers said, were her attempts to explain the cancer fib.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2025

If someone were to ask me how I kept my sanity this past year, I would first probably fib and come up with something literary.

From Slate • Dec. 28, 2024

Rae’s pretext for the connection: Piano music helps her work, and Yoori was recommended by someone who overheard her practicing at the music school, a fib that the sweet but self-effacing Yoori hardly believes.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 6, 2024

Fortunately, I didn't have to fib in my reply.

From Salon • Jun. 11, 2023

So I don’t fib right here, right now in church.

From "Betty Before X" by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023