Home UK English textile

Meaning of textile in English:

textile

Pronunciation /ˈtɛkstʌɪl/

See synonyms for textile

Translate textile into Spanish

noun

  • 1A type of cloth or woven fabric.

    ‘a fascinating range of pottery, jewellery, and textiles’
    • ‘In addition, foreign designers are increasingly turning to India as a major source of exquisite textiles, rich embroidery fabrics and unique embellishments.’
    • ‘With a rejuvenation of interest in textiles and fabrics, selecting draperies is an invitation to give your windows a beautiful new presentation.’
    • ‘The women proudly showed us their handspun, naturally dyed, back strap loom woven textiles, which are really works of art.’
    • ‘Working with patterns, textiles, fabrics and accessories, your aim will be to form a unified and creative design scheme.’
    • ‘In the quarter century before the American Revolution, British foreign trade changed its commodity composition to provide a wider range of textiles, notably linen and cotton fabrics.’
    • ‘He shows us La Fuente with its maze of shops and its indigenous market, a veritable carpet of embroidered and woven textiles laid out in the courtyard sun around the fountain.’
    • ‘These clothes may not look as if they're inspired by the continent, but they can be called African, because the textiles were woven together in Madagascar.’
    • ‘France, and in particular Lyons, has been renowned as a center for weaving high quality textiles for more than five hundred years.’
    • ‘The northern tribes on the Northwest Coast, such as the Tlingit, wove the most elaborate textiles.’
    • ‘Goyor sarongs like many other conventionally made woven textiles, need plenty of time and patience in the making.’
    • ‘With a premium on hand woven textiles, there is a move to make the products look chic.’
    • ‘The silk could also be woven into strong textiles to make parachutes, body armour, ropes and fishing nets.’
    • ‘Potter Group is funding the new buildings and their maintenance for a major customer who imports linens and textiles.’
    • ‘Guatemala's handspun and woven textiles are among the finest in the world.’
    • ‘Softer compared to the traditional Khadi textile, this new handspun fabric boasts of being eco-friendly and does not crease easily.’
    • ‘Thompson stayed on after the war and developed an interest in traditional Thai textiles, introducing Thai silk to the international market.’
    • ‘Known as a master of batik and other indigenous textiles, Obin has worked with traditional cloth since 1975.’
    • ‘Worsteds resembled silk textiles but cost less and were more durable.’
    • ‘Weavers were also brought to Maheshwar to weave saris for the royal family and the textiles they made came to be called Maheshwari.’
    • ‘There are many local, regional, and national weaving competitions and fairs to promote textiles.’
    fabric, cloth, material
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1textilesThe branch of industry involved in the manufacture of cloth.
      ‘in textiles, more women were employed than men’
      • ‘Employment also fell in nondurable goods manufacturing industries, especially textiles, apparel, printing and publishing and rubber products.’
      • ‘Once hailed as a great manufacturing base, the decline of many widespread industries such as mining, textiles and heavy industry forced communities to re-focus and find new sources of employment.’
      • ‘The dominant industries are textiles and light manufacturing, as Guangzhou feverishly tries to keep pace with nearby Hong Kong.’
      • ‘Light industry, textiles, machinery and electronics have been hit badly by default of payment of inter-enterprise debt.’
      • ‘It doesn't have to be textiles, but textiles are the industry that has launched South East Asian nations into what is called industrialising countries.’
      • ‘Network governance is found in the most complex and dynamic industries like fashion textiles, movie making, electronics and biotechnology.’
      • ‘Hundreds of manufacturers in low-value industries such as textiles have set up production facilities in Morocco.’
      • ‘They are seeking work in the country's booming industries, such as manufacturing and textiles.’
      • ‘The large national concerns, which were mainly concentrated in the declining industries of textiles, shipbuilding, and steel, were intermittently protectionist in their demands.’
      • ‘Types of workers thus ranged from peasants who supplemented their income with domestic industry, usually in textiles, to highly skilled craftsmen in towns and cities who concentrated on luxury items.’
      • ‘While traditional industries such as textiles, mining and the automotive components sector have steadily declined, the aerospace sector has become the backbone of the regional economy.’
      • ‘Lord Sainsbury said technical textiles was ‘an industry of the future’ and that was why the Government wanted to give it the best possible conditions for innovation and growth.’
      • ‘In the days to come, successful businesses would have to go global, especially in areas such as agriculture, textiles, industry and information technology.’
      • ‘The decline and fall of the home care industry, textiles, heavy and light engineering proves that free trade and cheap goods are more powerful influences on our spending habits than emotions.’
      • ‘The underlying cause of trouble in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford is the collapse of industries such as textiles, bringing with it poverty and unemployment, he believes.’
      • ‘Apart from tourism, the town's main industry is textiles, with 20 factories employing about 4,000.’
      • ‘In some industries, most notably textiles, massive changes took place in technology and in the organisation of production causing dramatic productivity growth.’
      • ‘South Korea's current main investment areas are focused on labor-intensive industries such as textiles, footwear and garments.’
      • ‘During the early 1990s, much of the money went into such labor-intensive industries as textiles and toys.’
      • ‘Major industries in Flanders include textiles, automobiles, and chemicals.’

  • 2informal Used by nudists to describe someone wearing clothes, especially on a beach.

    • ‘nudists to the left, textiles to the right’
    • ‘This is a beach where 'textiles' and nudists have mingled quite happily together for years.’
    • ‘The beach at Koktabel, in southern Crimea, has long been associated with naturism, and for many decades naturists have co-existed peacefully with the textiles who frequent this busy seaside resort every summer.’
    • ‘The naturist field is divided by a low fence, so although you are separated from the textiles you were still in full view of each other.’

adjective

  • 1attributive Relating to fabric or weaving.

    ‘the textile industry’
    • ‘In his late textile designs, floral patterns of Art Nouveau fabrics sway in aqueous flotation.’
    • ‘Pennine Weavers is one of only two commission weavers left in West Yorkshire, producing the highest-quality wool textile fabrics for customers.’
    • ‘A number of textile manufacturers are marketing fabrics threaded or plated with silver, copper or stainless steel.’
    • ‘Produced in the Netherlands and Manchester, the brightly coloured and patterned fabrics are influenced by Indonesian textile design.’
    • ‘The government wanted to boost the growth of Indonesia's textile industry by developing rayon fibre production in order to reduce dependence on imported cotton.’
    • ‘While raising her family Jennifer ran textile companies, designing, printing and wholesaling furnishing fabrics.’
    • ‘The factory system in the United States emerged with the growth of the cotton textile industry in New England after the Revolutionary War.’
    • ‘After graduating from the art school, Mori became a textile designer and dyer of kimono fabrics.’
    • ‘The Spinning Mule marked a turning point for the textile industry as it massively increased the quantity and quality of yarn spun.’
    • ‘By the 1830s Australia was becoming a major supplier of wool to the British textile industry.’
    • ‘Since the 14th century, the cotton textile industry has boomed in the Yangtze delta area where there were many blue calico workshops.’
    • ‘Uzbekistan was the main producer of cotton for the Russian textile industry and its irrigation needs were considered to be the priority issue.’
    • ‘Polymeric fibers have become important in the textile industry.’
    • ‘Almost all areas of the British Isles were home to local wool and textile industries, usually producing rough cloth for local consumption.’
    • ‘In the textile industry much spinning was for long done by peasant-women at home with their spinning-wheels.’
    • ‘Paisley's textile industry was hugely inventive and prosperous, but the town's pioneering reputation was not forged in business alone.’
    • ‘Rising wages contrasted with declining textile prices, which fell remorselessly in every textile industry for which we have data.’
    • ‘His family had for generations been in the textile industry, first in wool and then cotton, and had built up a major business in East Lancashire.’
    • ‘In textile industries daughters and sons of weavers inherited skills, and chose spouses in the same profession.’
    • ‘Jones added that although Namibia's textile industry is very small, joint ventures could be set up with US firms that would manufacture goods in Namibia for export to the US.’

  • 2informal Used by nudists in reference to non-nudists.

    • ‘textile beaches’
    • ‘Breezes offers a nice 50-yard-long, soft-sand clothing-optional beach that directly adjoins the textile beach.’
    • ‘The property offers a really nice little beachfront with fine sand and turquoise water, but has textile beaches on both sides and frequent beach walkers, so privacy is limited.’
    • ‘We felt quite at ease as the naturist section was a good distance from the main 'textile' beach and as a result there were very few passers by.’
    • ‘Textile bathers tend to avoid the naturist end of the beach and there is an unofficial line where these two separate.’

Origin

Early 17th century from Latin textilis, from text- ‘woven’, from the verb texere.