textile

American  

[teks-tahyl, -til] / ˈtɛks taɪl, -tɪl /

noun

textiles plural

1. any cloth or goods produced by weaving, knitting, or felting.

2. a material, as a fiber or yarn, used in or suitable for weaving.

   Glass can be used as a textile.

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adjective

1. woven or capable of being woven.

   textile fabrics.

2. of or relating to weaving.

3. of or relating to textiles or the production of textiles.

   the textile industry.

textile British  

/ ˈtɛkstaɪl /

noun

1. any fabric or cloth, esp woven

2. raw material suitable to be made into cloth; fibre or yarn

3. a non-nudist, as described by nudists; one who wears clothes

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adjective

1. of or relating to fabrics or the making of fabrics

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• textiles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of textile

1520–30; < Latin textilis woven, textile (noun use of neuter) woven fabric, equivalent to text ( us ), past participle of texere to weave + -ilis, -ile -ile

Explanation

A textile is something made by knitting, weaving, or crocheting fibers together. A textile is a cloth. You’re probably wearing a textile right now! Textile comes from the Latin word, textilis for "woven fabric” and that's exactly what it is. If you’re in the textile business, you’re dealing with the stuff that gets turned into clothes, flags, dishrags, or anything else made of cloth. If you knit a scarf, you create a hand-made textile — although the word is more often used in art or industry, as in textile design or textile imports.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

textile textiles

Two practice journeys with a textile copy were previously made, to test the route and the crate.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

"I thought I would lay low for a while and seek new employment once the situation calms," said Musa Hashimi, who worked as a machinist in a textile factory.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

A textile artist from north-west London says she is "so so so happy" after a box containing 206 pieces of her tea towel art display was returned, after she thought it had been lost.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

The EU generated nearly seven million tons of textile waste in 2022, about 35 pounds per person, according to the European Environment Agency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

By 1899, the Dukes controlled all major textile mills in the Durham area.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

While sub-Saharan Africa imports over $30 billion worth of textiles per year, the businessman is developing this industry in other countries such as Togo, Nigeria and Kenya.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Graphic textiles mixed with wood and metal accents can make a lawn feel less like a backyard and more like an outdoor living room.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

Unlike conventional textiles, where color is applied through dyeing, sea silk generates its golden hue from the arrangement of proteins within the fiber itself.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026

"We had a textiles class, there was a blacksmithing area," she explains.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

She watched the bored-looking merchants inside their tiny stalls, smoking, or spitdng into brass spittoons, their faces emerging from the shadows now and then to peddle textiles and fur-collared poostin coats to passersby.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• cloth
• fiber
• goods
• yarn