fur

SayFUR/fɜɹ/UK/fɜː/

Pluralfurs (some meanings)

17 meanings of fur

1
animal coatnoununcountable
The hairy coat of many mammals, especially when it is fine, soft, and thick.
The seal's dense fur traps a layer of warm air against its skin.
The fox shed its summer fur and grew a thicker winter coat.
Similarcoat, hair, pelt
2
noununcountable
The skin of an animal with the hair left on, or such skins used as a material for clothing.
The collar and cuffs were edged in fur to keep out the wind.
Frontier economies depended heavily on fur shipped back to European markets.
Similarpelt
3
coat or wrapnouncountable
A piece of clothing, such as a coat or wrap, made from animal pelts with the hair left on.
The actress arrived draped in a white fur.
Her grandmother kept two old furs in a cedar chest.
UsageOften plural, as in wrapped in furs or wearing her furs.
Note
Worn rather than traded, furs are coats and wraps. Writing to the Countess of Mar in 1716, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was 'wrapped up in my furs'.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu used the quoted words in a letter to the Countess of Mar dated 1716. en.wiktionary.org
The quotation is exactly 'wrapped up in my furs'. en.wiktionary.org
4
noununcountable
A thick, soft pile forming the raised surface of certain fabrics.
Inside, the coat is lined with synthetic fur that feels almost as soft as real rabbit.
After a few trips through the washing machine, the fur on the stuffed rabbit had gone matted and stiff.
Similarpile, nap, plush
Note
One of a family of figurative furs, each a coating or lining that resembles an animal's coat in look or function. The family includes the pile of a fabric, the down on a peach, the deposit inside a kettle and the coating on a tongue. Here the likeness is closest, because a fabric's pile is soft, raised and dense, much as a pelt is.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
These figurative senses describe coatings or linings resembling animal fur. en.wiktionary.org
5
for (spoken)prepositionnonstandardpronunciation spelling
Pronunciation spelling of for: the preposition for, written to show a casual or regional way of saying it.
He saved the last slice fur his little brother.
They waited all morning fur the boat to come in.
Note
Charles Dickens uses this sound-spelling in David Copperfield (1849–50), where a speaker recalls a woman offering needlework 'fur her' and a lodging too. The spelling marks the voice rather than the meaning. In every other respect it is the ordinary preposition for, told apart from the conjunction form only by its grammar.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield. gutenberg.org
David Copperfield was first published in 1849–50, in serial instalments; the first book edition appeared in 1850. en.wikipedia.org
The novel contains 'fur her' in Mr. Peggotty's account of a woman offering to find Emily needlework and lodging. gutenberg.org

Less common meanings

6
body hairnouncolloquialuncountable
Thick hair on a person's body, especially on the chest, back or legs.
He undid his shirt to reveal a chest covered in fur.
A winter without shaving had left his legs thick with fur.
Similarhair
7
fandom membernouncountable
A member of the furry fandom, a subculture centered on animal characters with human characteristics.
The hotel hosted hundreds of furs for the annual meetup.
He came out as a fur to his friends last year.
Similarfurry
Note
A clipped form of furry, used by and about members of the fandom. Shari Caudron's Who Are You People? (2006) quotes a fan who uses the two side by side, asking 'what brings furries together?' and then answering 'furs are here because…', which shows they are interchangeable. Context settles the plural: furs at a convention are people, while furs in a closet are coats and wraps.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The fandom term fur is a clipping of furry. en.wiktionary.org
Shari Caudron wrote Who Are You People?, first published in 2006. collectedmiscellany.com
The book quotes the same speaker using furries and furs in successive sentences. en.wiktionary.org
8
verbtransitive
To cover a surface with fur or with a coating resembling fur.
Green moss had furred the north side of every stone in the old wall.
Her winter cloak was furred at the collar and cuffs with soft rabbit skin to keep out the cold.
UsageDoubles the r: furred, furring. Often passive: a hood furred with rabbit.
Similarline, trim, coat
9
peach fuzznoununcountable
The fine, velvety down growing on a peach's skin.
The fur on the peach caught the warm light of the orchard.
She wiped the fur from each peach with a damp cloth before serving.
Similarfuzz, down
10
becauseconjunctionnonstandardpronunciation spelling
Pronunciation spelling of for: the conjunction for, meaning because, written to show a casual or regional pronunciation.
“I won't sell that mule,” the old farmer muttered, “fur she's all I got left in this world.”
“Best keep your voice down,” Jem whispered, “fur the sheriff's men are out lookin' tonight.”
Note
A spelling that shows the word as it sounds in relaxed speech, with the vowel of for softened toward that of fur. As a conjunction it carries an odd tension. For meaning 'because' is formal and literary, so fur turns a bookish connective into the voice of a particular speaker.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Fur is a pronunciation spelling of for, including the conjunction. en.wiktionary.org
11
become cakedverbintransitive
To become coated with fur or with a layer resembling fur.
Old kettles fur up wherever the water is especially hard.
The valve had furred so badly that water barely passed through.
UsageMost often with up: kettles and pipes fur up.
Note
Tom Michell's The Penguin Lessons (2015) describes a college whose pipes 'furred up so rapidly that they had to be replaced every few years'. The particle stresses a coating that keeps building until it clogs.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Tom Michell wrote The Penguin Lessons. penguinrandomhouse.com
The Penguin Lessons was first published in 2015. cdn.penguin.co.uk
The book describes college pipes using the quoted wording, including replacement every few years. en.wiktionary.org
12
noununcountable
Rabbits and hares considered as game, distinguished from game birds such as partridges and pheasants (called feathers).
The gamekeeper managed both fur and feather across the whole estate.
The gamekeeper said fur had been scarce this season, though pheasants were plentiful.
UsagePaired as fur and feather to cover all the game an estate holds.
Oppositefeather
Note
Ground game in the sportsman's vocabulary: rabbits and hares are fur, and partridges and pheasants are feather. It names a category of quarry, never individual animals.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
In hunting terminology, rabbits and hares are distinguished as fur from game birds such as partridges and pheasants. en.wiktionary.org
13
noununcountable
The hard deposit that hard water leaves on the inside of boilers, kettles, and other vessels.
Decades of use had coated the boiler's tubes with a stubborn fur.
A vinegar soak loosened the fur clogging the showerhead.
Similarscale, limescale, deposit
14
noununcountable
The coating of shed cells and debris that forms on the surface of the tongue.
After two days of fever, a heavy fur had built up on her tongue.
Brushing the tongue helps clear away the fur that causes bad breath.
Similarcoating, film
15
level (building)verbtransitive
To fix thin strips of wood or metal to a wall, ceiling or rafters, to level the surface or leave a space behind the covering.
Builders fur the brickwork so the panels sit flush against it.
They furred the rafters to true up the sagging roofline.
UsageAlso fur out: fur out the brick before paneling.
Similarbatten
Note
Builders use it for a specific job: fixing furring strips to a wall, ceiling or rafters so the surface comes out level for whatever goes on top. The participle furring also serves as the name of the strips themselves.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Furring strips can be attached to building surfaces to make them level before applying a finish. en.wiktionary.org
Furring also denotes the strips themselves. en.wikipedia.org
16
sex appealnounslangvulgaruncountable
Sexual attractiveness; sex appeal.
Similarallure, magnetism, charisma
Note
It stretches the body-hair sense, pubic hair in particular, to sex appeal itself.
17
noun
One of several patterned tinctures used in heraldry, such as ermine and vair.

Practice

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Origin

The noun comes from Middle English furre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre ("a case; sheath"), which goes back through Frankish and Proto-Germanic *fōdrą ("sheath"), related to German Futter ("lining") and Gothic fōdr ("sheath"), and ultimately to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to protect." The verb comes from Middle English furren, from Anglo-Norman furrer ("to line, stuff, fill"), formed from the noun.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

The noun derives from Middle English furre and Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre, meaning case or sheath. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry passes through Frankish to Proto-Germanic *fōdrą, meaning sheath. en.wiktionary.org
German Futter, meaning lining, is related. en.wiktionary.org
Gothic fōdr, meaning sheath, is related. en.wiktionary.org
The ultimate root is reconstructed as a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to protect. en.wiktionary.org
The verb derives from Middle English furren and Anglo-Norman furrer, meaning to line, stuff or fill, formed from the noun. en.wiktionary.org