fib

[ fib ]

/ fɪb /

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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.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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. 2023

How to use fib in a sentence

Former Colorado County Clerks Association director Pam Anderson refused to play along with the party’s fibs and says her former colleagues ran a fair 2020 count.
Trumpism Has Hijacked Colorado's Shrinking GOP. That Has National Implications.|Philip Elliott|June 28, 2022|TIme
Often, people will tell a fib to keep from hurting another’s feelings.
Lying won’t stretch your nose, but it will steal some brainpower|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|April 21, 2022|Science News For Students
The fib led to Pressler losing her job on the Bloomberg investigative unit before it started.
The True Story Behind Netflix's Inventing Anna|Shannon Carlin|February 11, 2022|Time
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