noun
fabric
FAB-rihk
noun
1
Cloth made by weaving or knitting fibres together.
"She chose a soft cotton fabric for the curtains."
"The dress was made from a shimmering silk fabric."
2
The basic underlying structure of something, especially a society, building, or system.
"Corruption at every level was tearing at the fabric of society."
"Years of neglect had weakened the fabric of the old church."
How to Use Fabric
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither woven cloth, or (more abstractly) the basic structure holding something together.
Common pairings
woven fabric
the fabric of society
torn fabric
social fabric
Word Forms
fabricked past tense, fabrics plural, fabrics singular
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Etymology
From French fabrique, ultimately from Latin fabrica, "workshop" or "product of skilled work," from faber, "craftsman."