Meaning & use
poplin fabric
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
A smooth, fairly strong woven cloth with fine crosswise ridges, often made of cotton and used for shirts and dresses.
Grammar: No plural and no 'a' before it: 'made of poplin fabric', not 'a poplin fabric'.
Patterns
- made of poplin fabric
- a poplin fabric shirt
The dress is made of poplin fabric, so it keeps its shape well.
Poplin fabric has a slight ridge across it that you can feel with your finger.
She chose a white poplin fabric for the summer shirt because it breathes.
Common combinations
- cotton poplin
- Cotton poplin is a popular choice for formal shirts.
- poplin shirt
- He wore a crisp poplin shirt to the interview.
- a length of poplin
- I bought a length of poplin to make curtains.
- poplin weave
- The poplin weave gives the cloth its fine horizontal lines.
Synonyms and how they differ
- broadcloth
- Broadcloth is a similar smooth, closely woven cloth, but it does not have poplin's fine crosswise ridge.
- cotton
- Cotton is the fiber or a general soft cloth; poplin is one specific way of weaving such cloth.
Word family
- poplin noun
- The short, usual name for this cloth.
Commonly confused: poplin fabric or poplar?
poplin fabric vs poplar
Poplar is a tall tree; poplin is a fabric. They sound similar but are unrelated.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'poplin fabric' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Poplin fabric' is uncountable, so it fits after 'made of' with no article or plural. Option A wrongly pluralizes it, C uses it as a verb, and D uses the wrong verb form 'are'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “poplin fabric”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.