fur

verb

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\ ˈfər

furred; furring

Definition of fur

(Entry 1 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to cover, line, trim, or clothe with fur

2 : to coat or clog as if with fur

3 : to apply furring to

intransitive verb

: to become coated or clogged as if with fur

fur

noun, often attributive

Definition of fur (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : a piece of the dressed pelt of an animal used to make, trim, or line wearing apparel

2 : an article of clothing made of or with fur

3 : the hairy coat of a mammal especially when fine, soft, and thick also : such a coat with the skin

4 : a coating resembling fur: such as

a : a coat of epithelial debris on the tongue

b : the thick pile of a fabric (such as chenille)

fur

abbreviation

Definition of fur (Entry 3 of 3)

furlong

Other Words from fur Synonyms Did you know? Example Sentences Learn More About fur

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Synonyms for fur

Synonyms: Noun

Did you know?

When the word fur first came into English, it was a verb that meant “to line a person’s garment with the soft hair of an animal.” The noun developed from the verb. First, the noun referred to the animal hair that was used for lining and trimming a garment. Then it came to refer to the hairy coat on the animal itself. The verb, not much used anymore, was taken from the early French verb furrer, meaning “to stuff, fill, line.” It was formed from an earlier French word meaning “a sheath.” Thus our word fur for the hairy coat that covers or encases an animal traces back to a word for a sheath that encases a knife or sword.

Examples of fur in a Sentence

Noun The cat has black-and-white fur. The rabbit's fur is soft. Her gloves are lined with fur. He made his fortune trading furs in the 17th century. Her new fur is a full-length mink coat. a teddy bear with soft fur

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Perhaps some day Levi will watch one of his father’s cartoons and notice a mama bear with tender eyes and fur the color of coffee. — Soudi Jiménez, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2021 Without the companion app, FurReal is still a responsive robot who makes calm, happy noises when kids pet it on its furred back, or barks a warning when its tail is tweaked. — USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2020 Whether feathered or furred, all of these animals belong to the same political species: the bird-dogger. — Samuel Ashworth, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2020 At the pool’s edge, mosses fur the stones in newborn green, and white flowers bloom, their perfume carried lightly on the vapor cast off by the waterfall. — Seija Rankin, EW.com, 22 Jan. 2020 That was my America right there: pastel greenish-brown of grass furring the rolling hills. — Colin Barrett, Harper's magazine, 5 July 2019 Even a few hours in a fruit bowl on a summer afternoon is enough to fur them with mold, after which emergency measures may or may not help. 3. — New York Times, 22 May 2018 One vendor sold from racks of authentic furs while another offered a fur tissue box covers and fur hot water bottles. — Beth Spotswood, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 2018 His usual hot-spot area is fully furred and not itchy. — Wes Siler, Outside Online, 24 Apr. 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Thousands of mink died at fur farms in Utah and Wisconsin after a series of coronavirus outbreaks. — Rachel Trent, CNN, 19 Apr. 2021 Rosselkhoznadzor said Russian fur farms planned to buy the vaccine, along with businesses in Greece, Poland and Austria. — NBC News, 31 Mar. 2021 In April, workers on two fur farms in the Netherlands unknowingly passed the virus to minks being raised there. — Maryn Mckenna, Wired, 22 Mar. 2021 About 112 fur farms nationally got PPP aid, including 18 farms in Wisconsin. — Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2021 While that disease infected only people, the novel coronavirus can spread among small mammals like mink, then, though less effectively, back into humans, turning the world’s fur farms into potential reservoirs for the virus. — Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, 7 Feb. 2021 Ferrets are also close relatives of minks, which have seen massive outbreaks of coronavirus infections in European and U.S. fur farms. — Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2021 In Europe, mink on fur farms were catching COVID-19. — Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2020 Polished onyxes evoke the marbling of the fur, while white, yellow and orange diamonds represent the thickness of the pelt, with its golden reflections highlighted by three gold topazes totaling 27.34 carats. — Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 27 June 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.