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sisal

American  
[sahy-suhl, sis-uhl] / ˈsaɪ səl, ˈsɪs əl /

noun

  1. Also called sisal hemp.  a fiber yielded by an agave, Agave sisalana, of Yucatán, used for making rope, rugs, etc.

  2. the plant itself.


sisal British  
/ ˈsaɪsəl /

noun

  1. a Mexican agave plant, Agave sisalana, cultivated for its large fleshy leaves, which yield a stiff fibre used for making rope

  2. the fibre of this plant

  3. any of the fibres of certain similar or related plants

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sisal

1835–45; short for Sisal grass or hemp, named after Sisal, port in Yucatán

Vocabulary lists containing sisal

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For indoor rugs, rather than moving all the furniture, you can pop a fuzzy rug over your cotton or sisal rug until the robins start singing.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 1, 2023

But while they borrowed from this heritage, the Jacobis made weavings that were more like sculptural reliefs, retaining the natural hues of the materials, which included cotton, untreated cardboard, sandpaper, sisal, coconut fiber and graphite.

From New York Times • Jul. 19, 2022

Nimco Abdi gently places her six-month-old baby girl onto a plastic basin supported with sisal ropes.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2022

Soon she begins leaving bizarre crosses made of sisal bound sticks around their house.

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2019

He adjusted his tall hat made of sisal fibers.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver