fib

[ fib ]
See synonyms for: fibfibbingfibber on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a small or trivial lie; minor falsehood.

verb (used without object),fibbed, fib·bing.
  1. to tell a fib.

Origin of fib

1
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, noun
  • un·fib·bing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fib in a sentence

  • This was outrageous fibbing, but nobly done in a good cause.

  • The Baroness turned her smile toward him, and she instantly felt that she had been observed to be fibbing.

    The Europeans | Henry James
  • This romantic young philanthropist talks of fibbing, as if it were the most simple thing in life.

    A Romantic Young Lady | Robert Grant
  • Should it appear that Claire really wrote the letter, it will only be additional evidence of her faculty for fibbing.

    The Real Shelley, Vol. II (of 2) | John Cordy Jeaffreson

British Dictionary definitions for fib

fib

/ (fɪb) /


noun
  1. a trivial and harmless lie

verbfibs, fibbing or fibbed
  1. (intr) to tell such a lie

Origin of fib

1
C17: perhaps from fibble-fable an unlikely story; see fable

Derived forms of fib

  • fibber, noun

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