fabric

/ˈfæb.ɹɪk/

//ˈfæb.ɹɪk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fabric" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fabric” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,240 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,240
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An edifice or building.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fabric vs FARC
0% similar
fabric vs fanfic
67% similar
fabric vs faerie
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fabric
PropertyValue
Headwordfabric
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfæb.ɹɪk/
Letters6
Frequency rank#6,240
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fabric” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). fabric lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for fabric is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfæb.ɹɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,240 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for fabric, with forms such as "afbric", "fabbric", and "fabirc". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "FARC", "fanfic", "faerie", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French fabrique, from Latin fabrica (“a workshop, art, trade, product of art, structure, fabric”), from faber (“artisan, workman”). Doublet of fabrica, borrowed from Latin, and forge, borrowed from Old French. The correct English form is fabric, spelled F-A-B-R-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    An edifice or building.
  2. 2
    The act of constructing, construction, fabrication.
  3. 3
    The structure of anything, the manner in which the parts of a thing are united; workmanship, texture, make.
  4. 4
    The physical material of a building.
  5. 5
    The framework underlying a structure.
  6. 6
    A material made of fibers; especially, a woven one.
  7. 7
    The texture of a cloth.
  8. 8
    The appearance of crystalline grains in a rock.
  9. 9
    The fired clay material of pottery artifacts.
  10. 10
    Interconnected nodes that look like a textile fabric when diagrammed.

Etymology

Borrowed from French fabrique, from Latin fabrica (“a workshop, art, trade, product of art, structure, fabric”), from faber (“artisan, workman”). Doublet of fabrica, borrowed from Latin, and forge, borrowed from Old French.

Synonyms

fabricclothtextile

This word in other languages

entramado(Español)structure(Français)Gebäude(Deutsch)estrutura(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afbric,fabbric,fabirc,fabrci,fabricc,fabrric,farbic,fbaric,ffabric

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fabric - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

afbric2fabbric1fabirc2fabrci2fabricc1fabrric1farbic2fbaric2
Edit distance from "fabric"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fabric"?
"fabric" is spelled F-A-B-R-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfæb.ɹɪk/.
What does "fabric" mean?
As a noun, "fabric" means: An edifice or building.
What words are commonly confused with "fabric"?
"fabric" is commonly confused with "FARC", "fanfic", "faerie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fabric"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fabric" is /ˈfæb.ɹɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fabric"?
Borrowed from French fabrique, from Latin fabrica (“a workshop, art, trade, product of art, structure, fabric”), from faber (“artisan, workman”). Doublet of fabrica, borrowed from Latin, and forge, borrowed from Old French. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “fabric”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-A-B-R-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈfæb.ɹɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “FARC” - see the side-by-side comparison. fabric vs FARC
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list