fibre
/ˈfʌɪbə
/(US fiber)
noun
1A thread or filament from which a vegetable tissue, mineral substance, or textile is formed: the basket comes lined with natural coco fibres...
- The original focus industries were pottery, sericulture, carpentry, textiles, coconut fiber, and woven mats.
- With its qualities of strength and texture, and the ability to be dyed in vibrant colours, silk proved an unequalled fibre for textile production.
- Hot glass fibers for insulation and nylon fibers for textiles are extruded through platinum sieves.
Synonyms
thread, strand, tendril, filament
technical fibril
1.1A substance formed of fibres: ordinary synthetics don’t breathe as well as natural fibres [mass noun]: high strength carbon fibre...
- The thing to keep in mind is that your fabric must be a natural fiber: cotton, rayon, silk, or linen.
- Both fabrics wick perspiration away from your skin while natural fibers like cotton and wool tend to get damp and clammy with sweat.
- Wear clothes that are made from natural fibres like cotton, linen and silk; they allow your skin to breathe.
Synonyms
material, substance, cloth, fabric, stuff
1.2A thread-like structure forming part of the muscular, nervous, connective, or other tissue in the human or animal body: there were degenerative changes in muscle fibres figurative she wanted him with every fibre of her being...
- Other structures, such as connective tissue fibers and neuroglia, may be impregnated.
- At early stages of development, single muscle fibers are innervated by axon terminals from several different motor neurons.
- Muscle biopsies were freed of connective tissue and muscle fibers were isolated.
1.3 (also moral fibre) [mass noun] Strength of character: a weak person with no moral fibre...
- The strength has to be in the moral fibre of a people, and that sort of strength enables one to provide moral leadership in the world.
- We can't be having people of poor moral fibre now, can we.
- Medical research into the drug came to an abrupt end in the mid-1960s when LSD hit the headlines as hazardous to health and a looming shadow over society's moral fibre.
2 [mass noun] Dietary material containing substances such as cellulose, lignin, and pectin, that are resistant to the action of digestive enzymes.Previous studies have indicated that soybean protein and dietary fiber reduces cholesterol and improves insulin resistance....
- As pears are dense, they are also a good source of fibre and pectin.
- High consumption of dietary fiber regulates blood sugar levels, reduces cholesterol and can prevent heart disease and cancer.
Synonyms
roughage, bulk, fibrous material
Derivatives
fibred
[in combination]: long-fibred wools
fibreless
/ adjective ...- The fruit has high pulp content and is fibreless.
- This is because they eat nothing but refined, fibreless rubbish.
- The new ginger, fiberless and crisp like a potato, has a mild savory version of the older ginger's flavor, and its texture and mouthfeel make it eminently pickleable.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'lobe of the liver', (plural) 'entrails'): via French from Latin fibra 'fibre, filament, entrails'.