textile

American  

[teks-tahyl, -til] / ˈtɛks taɪl, -tɪl /

noun

• textiles
  plural

1. any cloth or goods produced by weaving, knitting, or felting.

2. a material, as a fiber or yarn, used in or suitable for weaving.

   Glass can be used as a textile.

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adjective

1. woven or capable of being woven.

   textile fabrics.

2. of or relating to weaving.

3. of or relating to textiles or the production of textiles.

   the textile industry.

textile British  

/ ˈtɛkstaɪl /

noun

1. any fabric or cloth, esp woven

2. raw material suitable to be made into cloth; fibre or yarn

3. a non-nudist, as described by nudists; one who wears clothes

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adjective

1. of or relating to fabrics or the making of fabrics

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• textiles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of textile

1520–30; < Latin textilis woven, textile (noun use of neuter) woven fabric, equivalent to text ( us ), past participle of texere to weave + -ilis, -ile -ile

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Explanation

A textile is something made by knitting, weaving, or crocheting fibers together. A textile is a cloth. You’re probably wearing a textile right now! Textile comes from the Latin word, textilis for "woven fabric” and that's exactly what it is. If you’re in the textile business, you’re dealing with the stuff that gets turned into clothes, flags, dishrags, or anything else made of cloth. If you knit a scarf, you create a hand-made textile — although the word is more often used in art or industry, as in textile design or textile imports.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

textile textiles

Nearby a mass-produced printed cotton textile shows mangoes against a sea of fireworks during the National Day parade of the same year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The house, with origins in the 15th Century, belonged to textile, fashion and retail entrepreneur Laura Ashley and her husband Bernard and owned by the family until his death in 2009.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

While studying management to help his family's textile business, he attended an aviation seminar and caught what he later called the "aviation bug".

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

In each workshop, Ingold encourages students to use discarded textile material to make art.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Zinaida had worked in a textile factory for five years before joining the 122nd Air Group, and she was assigned to become a parachute packer for the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

While the U.S. restricts companies from importing goods such as cotton and textiles from the region, in general it doesn’t prohibit American firms from selling there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Ali likes to use expansive spaces and incorporate fabrics and textiles, whether it’s a red, sequin-covered chador or a tubular-looking worm made out of polyester, Lycra and spandex.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

While AI plays might be back in vogue, utilities have struggled, as have consumer discretionary stocks, including names tied to automobile components, textiles and luxury goods, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

India's exports to the US include electronics, pharmaceuticals, machinery, jewellery, chemicals, textiles and petroleum products.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Women with kohl-rimmed eyes flocked around carts of multicolored pots, while bearded men in extravagant garb haggled over wax-dyed textiles that shimmered in the breeze.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

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Related Words

• cloth
• fiber
• goods
• yarn

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