Floss vs Fiber - What's the difference?
floss | fiber |
a thread, used to clean the area between the teeth
(raw) silk fibres
the fibres covering a corn cob
Any thread-like material having parallel strands that are not spun or wound around each other.
(British) Spun sugar or cotton candy, especially in the phrase "candy floss".
To clean the area between the teeth using floss .
(African American Vernacular English) To show off, especially by exhibiting one’s wealth or talent.
* 2003 , Vladimir Bogdanov, All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop , Backbeat Books, page 554:
* 2003 , Wang, Oliver, Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide , ECW Press, page 134:
* 2007 , Azie Faison, Agyei Tyehimba, Game Over: The Rise and Transformation of a Harlem Hustler , Simon and Schuster, page 69:
(UK) A small stream of water.
Fluid glass floating on iron in the puddling furnace, produced by the vitrification of oxides and earths which are present.
(countable) A single elongated piece of a given material, roughly round in cross-section, often twisted with other fibers to form thread.
(uncountable) A material in the form of fibers.
(textiles) A material whose length is at least 1000 times its width.
Dietary fiber.
(figuratively) Moral strength and resolve.
(mathematics) The preimage of a given point in the range of a map.
(computing) A kind of lightweight thread of execution.
As nouns the difference between floss and fiber
is that floss is while fiber is (countable) a single elongated piece of a given material, roughly round in cross-section, often twisted with other fibers to form thread.floss
English
Etymology 1
(Dental floss) 1750, from (etyl) . Related to fleece.Noun
(es)- embroidery floss
Verb
(es)- As the label's name no doubt implies, these rappers aren't your typical crew, even if they still like to floss and represent their city.
- “Ms. Jackson” is probably the most sensitive—and realistic—take on relationships to come out of hip-hop, while “Red Velvet” cautions would-be playas against pushing the floss envelope around “dirty boys” just waiting for a chance to add some gray flecks to that fur.
- It's impossible to floss wealth without attracting envy.
Etymology 2
Compare (etyl) Floss a float.Noun
(es)Derived terms
* floss hole (Webster 1913) ----fiber
English
Alternative forms
* fibre (chiefly British)Noun
(en noun)- The microscope showed a single blue fiber stuck to the sole of the shoe.
- The cloth is made from strange, somewhat rough fiber .
- Please use polyester fiber for this shirt.
- ''Fresh vegetables are a good source of fiber
- The ordeal was a test of everyone's fiber .
- ''Under this map, any two values in the fiber of a given point on the circle differ by 2π