%fiber%

n. a material made of fine glass fibers woven into a fabric-like form, and used in applications requiring heat resistance; it is also embedded in resins to make a pliable but strong composite material used as the main component of fishing rods and boat hulls, and replacing the sheet metal in some automobile bodies. [ Also spelled fibreglass, mostly British in usage. ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. that branch of optics which studies the transmission of light through thin transparent fibers. Light transmission through optical fibers has become an important means of data and telephone signal transmission, in some areas superseding the carrying of vioce and data signals through electrical pulses over copper wire. It is also used for directly carrying images from otherwise inaccessible locations, as from inside the body, for medical procedures. Light transmission via fiber optics for data transmission uses an optical fiber made of specially purified glass with low light absorption characteristics. [ PJC ]

n. (Med.) an instrument used to examine internal organs. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ }, n. [ F. fibre, L. fibra. ] 1. One of the delicate, threadlike portions of which the tissues of plants and animals are in part constituted; as, the fiber of flax or of muscle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any fine, slender thread, or threadlike substance; as, a fiber of spun glass; especially, one of the slender rootlets of a plant. [ wns=1 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. the inherent complex of attributes that determine a person's moral and ethical actions and reactions; sinew; strength; toughness; as, a man of real fiber. [ wns=2 ]
Syn. -- character, fibre. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

Yet had no fibers in him, nor no force. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A general name for the raw material, such as cotton, flax, hemp, etc., used in textile manufactures. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Nutrition) that portion of food composed of carbohydrates which are completely or partly indigestible, such as cellulose or pectin; it may be in an insoluble or a soluble form. It provides bulk to the solid waste and stimulates peristalsis in the intestine. It is found especially in grains, fruits, and vegetables. There is some medical evidence which indicates that diets high in fiber reduce the risk of colon cancer and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also called dietary fiber, roughage, or bulk. [ PJC ]

6. a leatherlike material made by compressing layers of paper or cloth. [ wns=3 ]
Syn. -- fibre, vulcanized fiber. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

Fiber gun, a kind of steam gun for converting, wood, straw, etc., into fiber. The material is shut up in the gun with steam, air, or gas at a very high pressure which is afterward relieved suddenly by letting a lid at the muzzle fly open, when the rapid expansion separates the fibers. --
Fiber plants (Bot.), plants capable of yielding fiber useful in the arts, as hemp, flax, ramie, agave, etc.

{ } a. Having fibers; made up of fibers.

{ } a. Having a visible fiber embodied in the surface of; -- applied esp. to a kind of paper for checks, drafts, etc.

{ }, a. Having no fibers; destitute of fibers or fiber. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A fiber created from natural materials or by chemical processes.
Syn. -- synthetic fiber. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Communications) A thin fiber of very pure glass used to carry signals transmitted by means of light. It has much greater information-carrying capacity than a copper wire, and in the 1990's became a dominant means of transmitting telephone communications over long distances. [ PJC ]