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• moire
  moire

  noun

  any moiré fabric.
• moiré
  moiré

  adjective

  (of silks and other fabrics) presenting a watery or wavelike appearance.

moire

¹ American  

[mwahr, mawr, mohr] / mwɑr, mɔr, moʊr /

noun

1. any moiré fabric.

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moiré ² American  

[mwah-rey, mawr-ey, mohr-ey, mwa-rey] / mwɑˈreɪ, ˈmɔr eɪ, ˈmoʊr eɪ, mwaˈreɪ /

adjective

1. (of silks and other fabrics) presenting a watery or wavelike appearance.

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noun

1. a design pressed on silk, rayon, etc., by engraved rollers.

2. any silk, rayon, etc., fabric with a watery or wavelike appearance.

3. Printing. an interference pattern of dots appearing in the print of process color.

moiré ¹ British  

/ ˈmwɑːreɪ /

adjective

1. having a watered or wavelike pattern

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noun

1. such a pattern, impressed on fabrics by means of engraved rollers

2. any fabric having such a pattern; moire

3. Also: moiré pattern.  a pattern seen when two geometrical patterns, such as grids, are visually superimposed

moire ² British  

/ mwɑː /

noun

1. a fabric, usually silk, having a watered effect

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Etymology

Origin of moire¹

1650–60; < French < English mohair

Origin of moiré²

From French, dating back to 1810–20; see origin at moire, -ee

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moire moiré

But the returns will arrive moire slowly than current spending suggests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

The moire seen on the display isn’t visible in person.

From The Verge ● Apr. 6, 2022

Leather coats came over moire pants came over printed python boots; ruby feathers and chunky knits came under tweed.

From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2020

Last month, Harry Styles put out his video for Lights Up in which he wears a blue silk moire suit designed by long-time collaborator Harris Reed.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 16, 2019

“Upon my word, here’s a state of things!” cried the old lady, taking the seat of honor prepared for her, and settling the folds of her lavender moire with a great rustle.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

One striking example involves stacking sheets of graphene and twisting them into a moiré pattern, which can suddenly turn the material into a superconductor.

From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026

In twisted antiferromagnetic layers, magnetic spin patterns are not limited to the small repeating moiré unit cell.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 2, 2026

Another of them, rendered almost invisibly in shellac on deep cobalt blue moiré, circles around to give the exhibition its trenchant title: “Now then, as I was about to say …”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

But the human stain is not without a comic essence, too, which Ruscha drew out in a wonderful group of word-paintings on shiny moiré fabric.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

Her blooming colour was gone, and she was pale almost as her white dress of moiré and Honiton lace, with wreaths of orange and myrtle blossoms.

From Life of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen — Volume 2 by Sarah Tytler