fib

[ fib ]

/ fɪb /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fib ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small or trivial lie; minor falsehood.

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

to tell a fib.

Nearby words

fiasco, fiat, fiat justitia, ruat caelum, fiat lux, fiat money, fib, fiber, fiber bundle, fiber optics, fiber pen, fiber, dietary

Origin of fib

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

Related forms

fib·ber, fib·ster, nounun·fib·bing, adjective

Synonym study

1. See falsehood.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fibbing

If the Times or Abramson, or both, is fibbing here, the credibility of the newspaper of record is now suspect.
Can We Trust The New York Times After the Abramson Debacle?|Joe Concha|May 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“They were all adults, at least to the best of my knowledge… Some could have theoretically been fibbing about it,” he said.
Six Most Awkward Moments From Anthony Weiner's Press Conference|The Daily Beast Video|June 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The Baroness turned her smile toward him, and she instantly felt that she had been observed to be fibbing.
The Europeans|Henry James
"I hope it is not due to your fibbing that you are all tangled up," she said.
The Hills of Refuge|Will N. Harben

She might be fibbing; she might be up to some of her tricks again; this might even be a move arranged with his father.
The Prodigal Father|J. Storer Clouston
Fibbing, a series of blows delivered quickly, and at a short distance.
The Slang Dictionary|John Camden Hotten
You have such a heavy apparatus for fibbing that it becomes fairly stately.
Dorothy and other Italian Stories|Constance Fenimore Woolson

British Dictionary definitions for fibbing

fib

/ (fɪb) /

noun

a trivial and harmless lie

verb fibs, fibbing or fibbed

(intr) to tell such a lie

Derived Forms

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