fabricate

verb

fab·​ri·​cate ˈfa-bri-ˌkāt 

fabricated; fabricating

transitive verb

1

a

: invent, create

b

: to make up for the purpose of deception

accused of fabricating evidence

2

: construct, manufacture

specifically : to construct from diverse and usually standardized parts

Their plan is to fabricate the house out of synthetic parts.

fabricator

ˈfa-bri-ˌkā-tər 

noun

Synonyms of fabricate

• produce
• make
• manufacture
• create

Examples of fabricate in a Sentence

Only the largest parts were fabricated at the factory.

Their plan is to fabricate the house out of synthetic materials.

a story fabricated to sell magazines

She was accused of fabricating data.

Recent Examples on the Web

Brand Jimenez also fabricated a stay of deportation order and provided it to one of his victims as proof that the victim would not be deported, officials said. —City News Service, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026

Brand Jimenez also fabricated a stay of deportation order and provided it to one of his victims as proof that the victim would not be deported, which was not true, officials said. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026

News of the settlements emerged after the Jackson estate brought an arbitration claim that accused one of the men involved of fabricating earlier allegations while trying to secure an additional $213 million in a new settlement with the estate. —Amelia McDonell-Parry, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026

Employing nanoscale precision, the team fabricated the metasurfaces at the Texas A&M AggieFab Nanofabrication Facility, supported by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). —Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 22 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fabricaten, borrowed from Latin fabricātus, past participle of fabricāre, fabricārī "to fashion, shape, construct," derivative of fabrica "process of making something, craft, art" — more at fabric

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for fabricate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

fabricate

verb

fab·​ri·​cate ˈfab-ri-ˌkāt 

fabricated; fabricating

1

: invent sense 2, create

2

: to make up in order to deceive

fabricated evidence to support her claim

3

: construct sense 1, manufacture

fabrication

ˌfab-ri-ˈkā-shən

noun

fabricator

ˈfab-ri-ˌkāt-ər 

noun

Legal Definition

fabricate

verb

fab·​ri·​cate ˈfa-brə-ˌkāt 

fabricated; fabricating

transitive verb

: to make up (as testimony) with an intent to deceive

intransitive verb

: to make something up with an intent to deceive

there was a motive to fabricate

—Gary Taylor