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

Observations show the people use narrow outrigger canoes, live in large communal huts, carry spears, bows and arrows, and wear fibre waistbelts, as well as necklaces and headbands.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

“We see increasing likelihood that BT guides to a higher mid-term dividend payout as fibre build completes and pension payments mature.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

The vast Arctic island is connected to the world by two subsea fibre optic cables to Canada and Iceland, in addition to satellite coverage in the north and east.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

Catering for this typically means two high-capacity fibre connections into and out of the stadium.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

I can weave and spin, or plait matting, but there is no money for spindle, cotton or fibre.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya