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

Like other fast-fashion giants including H&M and Zara, Shein has faced allegations of underpaying and overworking textile workers at its factories.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

But it still benefits from China's unique combination of a huge low-cost textile manufacturing sector and a highly sophisticated e-commerce logistics network.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

But she had always managed to land on her feet, surviving the precipitous decline of the textile industry during the early and mid-2000s when she was laid off from Springs Industries after 29 years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The material was used to make ceremonial blankets, giving these dogs a role centered on textile production rather than hunting or transportation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

Candice assumed the textile plant she mentioned was the one owned by the Allen family.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

She studied media, textiles and health and social care, and said there had been "lots of stress and meltdowns over exam period", but a "supportive community" at school and home made it easier.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

In her bedroom, she mixes floral textiles and modern art with a quirky stepstool shaped like an ear of corn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

A flood of Chinese goods into Russia has inundated domestic producers with cars, heavy machinery, textiles and even chicken breasts that are cheaper and often of better quality than what Russian companies can produce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Elsewhere are splendid cabinets with mother-of-pearl inlay, gorgeous enamel accessories, plush velvet textiles and engraved iron swords.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 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