FIBRE

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fibre mean? 

• FIBRE (noun)
  The noun FIBRE has 4 senses:

1. a slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn

2. any of several elongated, threadlike cells (especially a muscle fiber or a nerve fiber)

3. the inherent complex of attributes that determines a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions

4. a leatherlike material made by compressing layers of paper or cloth

  Familiarity information: FIBRE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FIBRE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

fiber; fibre

Hypernyms ("fibre" is a kind of...):

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

Meronyms (substance of "fibre"):

cellulose (a polysaccharide that is the chief constituent of all plant tissues and fibers)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fibre"):

raveling; ravelling (a bit of fiber that has become separated from woven fabric)

oakum (loose hemp or jute fiber obtained by unravelling old ropes; when impregnated with tar it was used to caulk seams and pack joints in wooden ships)

natural fiber; natural fibre (fiber derived from plants or animals)

man-made fiber; synthetic fiber (fiber created from natural materials or by chemical processes)

lint (fine ravellings of cotton or linen fibers)

fibril; filament; strand (a very slender natural or synthetic fiber)

string (a tough piece of fiber in vegetables, meat, or other food (especially the tough fibers connecting the two halves of a bean pod))

raffia (fiber of a raffia palm used as light cordage and in making hats and baskets)

coir (stiff coarse fiber from the outer husk of a coconut)

bassine (coarse leaf fiber from palmyra palms used in making brushes and brooms)

cantala; Cebu maguey; manila maguey (hard fiber used in making coarse twine; from Philippine agave plants)

loofa; loofah; loufah sponge; luffa (the dried fibrous part of the fruit of a plant of the genus Luffa; used as a washing sponge or strainer)

spindle ((biology) tiny fibers that are seen in cell division; the fibers radiate from two poles and meet at the equator in the middle)

nerve fiber; nerve fibre (a threadlike extension of a nerve cell)

glass fiber; glass fibre; optical fiber; optical fibre (a very thin fiber made of glass that functions as a waveguide for light; used in bundles to transmit images)

bristle (a stiff fiber (coarse hair or filament); natural or synthetic)

beard; byssus (tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of several elongated, threadlike cells (especially a muscle fiber or a nerve fiber)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

fiber; fibre

Hypernyms ("fibre" is a kind of...):

cell ((biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fibre"):

muscle cell; muscle fiber; muscle fibre (an elongated contractile cell that forms the muscles of the body)

nerve fiber; nerve fibre (a threadlike extension of a nerve cell)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The inherent complex of attributes that determines a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

character; fiber; fibre

Context example:

education has for its object the formation of character

Hypernyms ("fibre" is a kind of...):

trait (a distinguishing feature of your personal nature)

Meronyms (parts of "fibre"):

thoughtfulness (the trait of thinking carefully before acting)

responsibility; responsibleness (a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct)

integrity (moral soundness)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fibre"):

spirit (a fundamental emotional and activating principle determining one's character)

Holonyms ("fibre" is a part of...):

personality (the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A leatherlike material made by compressing layers of paper or cloth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fiber; fibre; vulcanized fiber

Hypernyms ("fibre" is a kind of...):

cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)

 Context examples 

Using a technique called electrospinning, scientists created “bottled bandages” which spray a thin layer of fibres onto damaged skin like spraying paint on a wall.

(Scientists Develop Spray Gun to Paint Bandages onto Wounds, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The high-fibre bread analysed during the study is especially suitable for breakfast.

(Researchers reveal potential of bread that suppresses appetite, University of Granada)

To the finest fibre of my nature, sir.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“Seeing this as a natural structure in bamboo fibres is inspiration for the development of better building products.”

(Visualising heat flow in bamboo could help design more energy-efficient and fire-safe buildings, University of Cambridge)

An ultrasound administered by using a tube containing flexible fibre optic wires that allows for the analysis of tissues inside the body.

(Endoscopic ultrasound, NCI Thesaurus)

At last the breeze came; the schooner sidled and drew nearer in the dark; I felt the hawser slacken once more, and with a good, tough effort, cut the last fibres through.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

For a moment they waited—the German sombre and collected, Sir Nigel quivering in every fibre with eagerness and fiery resolution.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Incoming light passes through nerve-fibres and intermediary nerve cells of the neural retina, before encountering the light-sensitive rods and cones at the interface between neural retina and the pigmented retinal epithelium.

(Neural Retina, NCI Thesaurus)

The free nerve endings detect pain, touch, pressure and temperature, and are associated with C fibres.

(Free Nerve Ending, NCI Thesaurus)

It was the trap, ever the trap, the fear of it lurking deep in the life of him, woven into the fibre of him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)