Fabrics refers to woven, knitted, or non-woven materials used in making clothes, upholstery, and other textile products. The plural form indicates multiple kinds of such materials. The term emphasizes the material itself rather than finished garments, and is often used in contexts like manufacturing, retail, and fashion design.
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"The store offered a wide range of fabrics, from linen to silk, for dressmaking."
"We sampled several fabrics to compare weight and drape for the upholstery project."
"The designer specified cotton fabrics with a breathable weave for the summer line."
"Lumps or irregularities in the fabrics were spotted during quality control."
Fabrics comes from the Old French fabrique, derived from Latin fabrica meaning a workshop, fabric, or construction, linked to fingere ‘to shape, fashion’. The root conveys the idea of weaving, making, or forming, expanding in English to denote woven materials. Early attestations in English emphasize materials created by weaving or interlacing fibers. Over time, sense narrowed to the materials themselves used in making garments, upholstery, and industrial products. In modern usage, fabrics covers anything from natural fibers (cotton, wool) to synthetics (polyester, viscose), and includes distinctions such as woven versus knitted, or treated finishes. The plural form fabrics reflects the category as a class of materials rather than a single fabric. First known use in English dates to medieval or early modern periods as textile production expanded in Europe; the exact earliest citation varies by dictionary, but the concept of ‘fabric’ as a material woven or manufactured from fibers is consistently foundational to the term’s evolution.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "fabrics" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "fabrics"
-fts sounds
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Pronounce as FAB-riks with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US/UK: /ˈfæ.brɪks/. In careful speech, the /æ/ is a near-front vowel, the /b/ is a clean stop, and the final /ɪks/ cluster is said quickly. Try to avoid tensing the first vowel or adding an extra syllable. If you’re using audio references, listen for the short, clipped second syllable.
Common errors: treating it as two syllables with a long vowel in the first or misplacing stress on the second syllable, producing /ˈfeɪ.brɪks/ or /ˈfæbrɪks/ with an extra vowel. Another mistake is adding a schwa between syllables or pronouncing the final /ks/ as /z/. Correction: keep a short /æ/ for the first vowel, stress on the first syllable, and end with a clean /ɪks/ without extra vowel or voicing changes: /ˈfæ.brɪks/.
In US/UK, /ˈfæ.brɪks/ with a rhotic-less or rhotic alignment primarily on vowels. US often shows slight reduction of the second syllable in rapid speech, but not a full vowel drop. Australian English tends to have a slightly broader /æ/ and a less tense final /ɪks/. Overall, the rhythm remains strong on the first syllable, with the second syllable shorter in all accents.
Because of the consonant cluster at the end (-brics) and a short, clipped second syllable that can blur in rapid speech. The /æ/ in the first vowel must be distinct from the /eɪ/ often heard in other words, and the final /ɪks/ demands a crisp release without voicing. Practicing the transition from /æ/ to /br/ and then a quick /ɪks/ helps anchor the rhythm.
Yes: ensure the 'br' is clean, not merged into a longer /brɪ/ sequence, and avoid turning it into /fabrɪks/ with a soft b or eliding the 'a' completely. The key is a crisp onset on the first syllable /ˈfæ/, a compact second syllable /brɪks/, and a short, final sibilant. You’ll benefit from focusing on the /æ/ and the /br/ cluster before the /ɪks/ ending.
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