fibre

American  

[fahy-ber] / ˈfaɪ bər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a variant of fiber.

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fibre British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• fibred adjective
• fibreless adjective

Etymology

Origin of fibre

C14: from Latin fibra filament, entrails

Example Sentences

Asbestos is a general name given to several naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have crystallised to form fibres.

From BBC

Food and beverage manufacturers, she added, are introducing new products with more protein and fibre, less sugar and sodium and without synthetic colour additives.

From BBC

The site, on Royal Mint Court, would also be close to fibre optic cables carrying vast quantities of highly sensitive data to the City of London.

From BBC

She suggested I increase my fibre intake - either by eating more oats, barley, beans, nuts and seeds, or by taking supplements of gel-forming fibre.

From BBC

Their shape is reminiscent of fibres or spaghetti.

From Science Daily