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Meaning & use

fibber

noun·EverydayinformalBritish

Last updated

UK/ˈfɪbə/
US/ˈfɪbɚ/

Meanings

  1. nouncountablehumorous

    Someone who tells small, usually harmless lies.

    Grammar: Often used affectionately or playfully, especially with children.

    Patterns

    • you little fibber

    Oh, you fibber, I know you ate the last biscuit!

    My little brother is a terrible fibber and always gets caught.

    Don't be a fibber, Tom; I saw you sneak out.

  2. nouncountableinformal

    A person who habitually exaggerates or does not tell the exact truth, but is not seriously dishonest.

    Grammar: A mild criticism rather than a serious accusation.

    Patterns

    • a bit of a fibber

    Grandpa is a bit of a fibber when he tells fishing stories.

    She called him a fibber after he claimed to know the singer.

    The salesman turned out to be something of a fibber.

Word forms

pluralfibbers

Common combinations

little fibber
You little fibber, you promised you'd already done your homework!
a terrible fibber
He is a terrible fibber and blushes whenever he tries.
a bit of a fibber
My uncle is a bit of a fibber about his golf scores.
caught out as a fibber
The boy was caught out as a fibber when his teacher called home.
call someone a fibber
She wouldn't call him a liar, only a fibber.

Synonyms and how they differ

liar
Liar is a much stronger word and implies serious or deliberate dishonesty, while fibber is mild and often playful.
storyteller
Storyteller is a polite, old-fashioned way for adults to tell children they are not telling the truth.
exaggerator
An exaggerator stretches the truth rather than invents it, but fibber covers any small untruth.
deceiver
Deceiver is formal and serious, so it does not fit the light tone of fibber.

Opposites

truth-teller

Word family

fib noun
a small lie
fib verb
to tell a small lie
fibbing noun
the act of telling small lies
fibbed verb
past tense of fib

Commonly confused: fibber or fiber?

fibber vs fiber

Fiber (British fibre) is a thread or the roughage in food and is pronounced differently, with a long i sound: /ˈfaɪbər/.

Practice

Which word would a parent most naturally use, in a teasing way, for a child who says she brushed her teeth when she didn't?

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