fib
/fɪb/ noun, verb
Forms fibs fibbing fibbed
- noun (informal) A lie, especially one that is more or less inconsequential.
- noun (informal, rare) A liar.
- verb (informal, intransitive) To lie, especially more or less inconsequentially.
- noun (medicine, informal) The fibula.
- verb (archaic, thieves' cant, boxing) To punch, especially a series of punches in rapid succession; to beat; to hit; to strike.
- noun (neologism) A kind of experimental poem where the number of syllables in each line is the next succeeding Fibonacci number.
Synonyms
alternative fact anti-fact invention bluff bollocks bullshit canard cap chin clanker contradiction cram disinformation fabrication falsehood falsification flam goof hoax hummer story tale tarradiddle taradiddle
Etymology
Unknown. Probably from fable; compare fible-fable (“nonsense”).
Clipping of fibula.
Short for Fibonacci.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A falsehood; a lie; --used euphemistically.
- verb To speak falsely. [Colloq.]
- verb To tell a fib to. [R.] De Quincey.
Etymology [Prob. fr. fable; cf. Prov. E. fibble-fabble nonsense.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “fib”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details