fibre

[fahy-ber]

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a variant of fiber.

fibre

/ ˈfaɪbə /

noun

1. a natural or synthetic filament that may be spun into yarn, such as cotton or nylon

2. cloth or other material made from such yarn

3. a long fine continuous thread or filament

4. the structure of any material or substance made of or as if of fibres; texture

5. essential substance or nature

   all the fibres of his being were stirred

6. strength of character (esp in the phrase moral fibre )

7. See dietary fibre

8. botany

   1. a narrow elongated thick-walled cell: a constituent of sclerenchyma tissue

   2. such tissue extracted from flax, hemp, etc, used to make linen, rope, etc

   3. a very small root or twig

9. anatomy any thread-shaped structure, such as a nerve fibre

Other Word Forms

• fibreless adjective
• fibred adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fibre¹

C14: from Latin fibra filament, entrails

Example Sentences

Another user in southern Kandahar province, who runs a private business, said his fibre optic internet had been cut off since Tuesday but mobile phone data was working, with Facebook and Instagram being "severely slow".

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The Crash Detectives cameras show forensic investigators finding orange fibres from Mr Parry's orange high-vis trousers on the wheel of his Evo.

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"There is no advanced technology used today that does not rely on quantum mechanics, including mobile phones, cameras... and fibre optic cables," said the Nobel committee.

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A spokesperson for the broadcaster said in recent years it had launched a set of products including Sky Glass, Sky Stream and a full fibre broadband service.

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An update posted on the Microsoft website on Saturday said that Azure traffic going through the Middle East "may experience increased latency due to undersea fibre cuts in the Red Sea".

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