fiber

noun

FY-bur/ˈfaɪ.bɚ/UKFY-buh/ˈfaɪ.bə/

Pluralfibers (some meanings)

UK spellingfibre

8 meanings of fiber

1
materialnoununcountable
Material made up of many thin, thread-like pieces.
Like the fluffy stuffing inside a pillow or a teddy bear.
The winter coat is stuffed with soft fiber for warmth.
Cotton is a natural fiber that feels soft against the skin.
2
single threadnouncountable
One thin, thread-like piece of material, often twisted with others to make thread.
Like one single strand of hair among many.
She pulled a loose fiber from the sleeve of her sweater.
Each fiber is twisted together with others to form strong thread.
Similarstrand, filament, thread
Note
3
in foodnouncountable or uncountable
The part of plant foods your body cannot digest, which helps your stomach work well.
Like a broom that sweeps food through your body.
Beans and whole grains are full of fiber.
Eating enough fiber keeps your digestion healthy.
Similarroughage, bulk
Note
4
characternounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
Inner strength that helps a person do what is right.
Like the strong threads inside a rope that keep it from breaking.
It takes real fiber to admit when you were wrong.
She showed great fiber by standing up for her friend.
Similarbackbone, strength, mettle, integrity, grit
Note
5
body cellnouncountable or uncountable
A long, tube-shaped cell found in the body's tissues, such as in muscles.
Each muscle fiber tightens to help you move.
Exercise makes the fibers in your leg muscles grow thicker.
Note

Less common meanings

6
noun
In computers, a small task that runs inside a bigger program and waits its turn.
7
noun
In math, all the starting points that a function sends to one chosen result.
8
noun
In one area of math, the part of an object that a map sends onto one chosen point.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of fiber apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From French fibre, which came from Latin fibra.