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

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

SK Group began as a textile company in 1953 but quickly grew across a wide swath of industries to become one of South Korea's biggest conglomerates.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Under his leadership, Benin, traditionally a cotton producer, is entering the textile industry.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

While the European Union has adopted broader rules on textile sustainability and online marketplaces, France’s law is the first to directly target the business models of companies such as Shein and Temu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

The last member of the five-woman cosmonaut testing and training group was a 26-year-old textile factory worker.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Recycling textiles can be particularly tricky because a lot of clothing is made from a blend of materials from polyester—which is derived from oil—to cotton, rayon and nylon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Manufacturing job losses in machinery, textiles, electronics and furniture slammed parts of the U.S. after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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

"If you look at just home textiles, Pakistan's share of UK exports are at around 55%, whereas India's is just 6-7%. That's the gap we can finally cover."

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The sale had gone through quickly, and Immie and her friends had shopped in the Portobello Road market for antiques and in Harrods for textiles.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

Related Words

• cloth
• fiber
• goods
• yarn