fabric
noun /ˈfæbrɪk/
  /ˈfæbrɪk/
- [uncountable, countable] material made by weaving wool, cotton, silk, etc., used for making clothes, curtains, etc. and for covering furniture
- They sell a wide variety of printed cotton fabric.
 - furnishing fabrics
 
Synonyms fabricfabric- cloth
 - material
 - textile
 
- fabric woven or knitted cotton, silk, wool, etc, used for making things such as clothes and curtains, and for covering furniture:
- cotton fabric
 - furnishing fabrics
 
 - cloth fabric made by weaving or knitting cotton, wool, silk, etc:
- His bandages had been made from strips of cloth.
 
 - material fabric used for making clothes, curtains, etc:
- ‘What material is this dress made of?’ ‘Cotton.’
 
 - textile any type of fabric made by weaving or knitting:
- He owns a factory producing a range of textiles.
 - the textile industry
 
 
- woven/cotton/woollen fabric/cloth/material/textiles
 - synthetic fabric/material/textiles
 - printed fabric/cloth/textiles
 - curtain/dress fabric/material
 
Extra ExamplesTopics Physics and chemistryb2, Clothes and Fashionb2, Shoppingb2- The fabric is woven on these machines.
 - fabric swatches of the different types of mattress covering
 - rich fabric wall coverings
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
 - luxurious
 - rich
 - …
 
- length
 - piece
 - strip
 - …
 
- make
 - produce
 - weave
 - …
 
- conditioner
 - softener
 - swatch
 - …
 
 - [singular] the fabric (of something) (formal) the basic structure of a society, an organization, etc. that enables it to function successfully
- a trend which threatens the very fabric of society
 
Synonyms structurestructure- framework
 - form
 - composition
 - construction
 - fabric
 
- structure the way in which the parts of something are connected together or arranged; a particular arrangement of parts:
- the structure of the building/human body
 - the social structure of society
 - the grammatical structures of a language
 - a salary structure
 
 - framework a set of beliefs, ideas or rules that forms the basis of a system or society:
- The report provides a framework for further research.
 
 - form [U] the arrangement of parts in a whole, especially in a work of art or piece of writing:
- As a photographer, shape and form were more important to him than colour.
 
 - composition [U] (rather formal) the different parts or people that combine to form something; the way in which they combine:
- recent changes in the composition of the workforce
 
 - construction [U] the way that something has been built or made:
- ships of steel construction
 
 - fabric (rather formal) the basic structure of a society or an organization that enables it to function successfully:
- This is a trend which threatens the very fabric of society.
 
 
- the basic structure/framework/form/composition/construction/fabric of something
 - a simple/complex structure/framework/form
 - the economic/political/social structure/framework/composition/fabric of something
 - the chemical/genetic structure/composition of something
 
Extra Examples- The government's policies have destroyed the social fabric.
 - the basic fabric of family life
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- basic
 - economic
 - moral
 - …
 
- destroy
 - threaten
 
- the very fabric of something
 - the whole fabric of something
 
 - [singular] the fabric (of something) the basic structure of a building, such as the walls, floor and roof
- The city retains much of its historic fabric.
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- basic
 - economic
 - moral
 - …
 
- destroy
 - threaten
 
- the very fabric of something
 - the whole fabric of something
 
 
Word Originlate 15th cent.: from French fabrique, from Latin fabrica ‘something skilfully produced’, from faber ‘worker in metal, stone, etc.’ The word originally denoted a building, later a machine, the general sense being ‘something made’, hence sense (1) (mid 18th cent., originally denoting any manufactured material). Sense (2) dates from the mid 17th cent.