fur

fur — noun

1. the dense, soft hair found on mammals like cats, rabbits, and bears; also the pr

1.nounB1
Definition

the dense, soft hair found on mammals like cats, rabbits, and bears; also the prepared skin of such animals, still bearing its natural hair, used to create warm garments and accessories.

Example

Sirin gently brushed the cat's thick winter fur until it shone.

possessive + fur for animal coat

The rabbit's soft brown fur kept it warm through the cold night.

Common collocations
  • thick fur
  • soft fur
  • long fur
  • warm fur
  • animal fur
  • real fur
Synonyms
  • hair

    used for mammals with coarser or shorter body hair (e.g. horses, humans); 'fur' implies denser, softer growth

  • coat

    refers to the entire hair covering of an animal, not the individual strands or pelt

  • pelt

    specifically the skin with fur still attached, usually after the animal has been killed and skinned

Grammar Patterns

fur + noun (as modifier)

countable: furs (types of fur or pelts)

Usage Note

Uncountable when referring to hair on a living animal ('The cat has thick fur'). Countable (furs) when referring to multiple types or pelts of fur as trade goods ('traders exchanged furs for tools').

Common Mistakes

The cat has very soft furs.
The cat has very soft fur.
fur is uncountable when referring to the hair on a living animal.
She wore a fur.' (ambiguous)
She wore a fur coat.
'a fur' without context is understood as a garment, not the material; specify the item.

2. a hard, whitish layer that forms inside metal kettles, water heaters, and plumbi

2.nounB2
Definition

a hard, whitish layer that forms inside metal kettles, water heaters, and plumbing pipes, made of mineral deposits from hard water.

Example

Élise had to scrub a thick layer of white fur from inside the old kettle.

fur from inside [container] — limescale

Hard water quickly leaves fur on the heating element of the washing machine.

Common collocations
  • fur build-up
  • white fur
  • fur in the kettle
  • fur on the element
Synonyms
  • limescale

    more precise technical term; 'fur' is the informal, everyday word

  • scale

    shorter synonym, common in instruction manuals ('descaling a kettle')

  • deposit

    broader term covering any mineral build-up, not specific to kettles

Grammar Patterns

fur + in/on [container]

Usage Note

Chiefly British English. In American English, 'limescale' or 'mineral deposits' is more common. Often found with 'kettle', 'pipes', 'boiler' as the location.

Common Mistakes

The kettle furs up quickly in soft water.
The kettle furs up quickly in hard water.
limescale forms from the high mineral content of hard water, not soft water.

3. a pale or greyish layer that develops on the surface of the tongue, often when a

3.nounC1
Definition

a pale or greyish layer that develops on the surface of the tongue, often when a person is unwell or is a regular smoker.

Example

The doctor noticed a white fur on the patient's tongue and asked about her diet.

fur on [the] tongue — medical context

After three days with the flu, Ezra could see a pale fur coating his tongue.

Common collocations
  • white fur on the tongue
  • grey fur
  • fur coating the tongue
Synonyms
  • coating

    more general and clinical; 'coated tongue' is the standard medical phrase

  • film

    suggests a thinner, more transparent layer than 'fur'

Grammar Patterns

fur + on [the tongue]

Usage Note

Used informally in medical contexts; the clinical term is 'coated tongue' or 'tongue coating'. Usually temporary and not a serious condition on its own.

4. an item of outerwear, typically a full-length coat or a short jacket, sewn from

4.nounB1
Definition

an item of outerwear, typically a full-length coat or a short jacket, sewn from animal fur or from a man-made material that copies it.

Example

Roya wore her grandmother's old fur coat to the winter wedding.

fur coat — common compound

Many celebrities now choose fake furs over real animal fur for ethical reasons.

Common collocations
  • fur coat
  • fur jacket
  • fur collar
  • fur hat
  • fur stole
  • real fur
  • fake fur
Synonyms
  • fur coat

    the most common specific garment type; 'fur' alone implies a coat by default

Grammar Patterns

fur + [garment type]

[garment type] + fur (as material)

Usage Note

Countable: 'she bought a fur' means a fur garment, not the raw material. In modern usage, 'faux fur' or 'fake fur' garments are increasingly common due to ethical concerns about animal farming.

Common Mistakes

She bought a new fur for her sofa.' (unclear)
She bought a fur throw for her sofa.
specify the type of item made of fur to avoid confusion with a coat.

5. a manufactured textile designed to copy the appearance and texture of animal fur

5.nounB1
Definition

a manufactured textile designed to copy the appearance and texture of animal fur, used mainly in clothing, accessories, and soft toys.

Example

The teddy bear was covered in a soft white fur that felt almost real.

Manuela lined the hood of her winter coat with synthetic fur for extra warmth.

synthetic fur — common modifier

Common collocations
  • fake fur
  • faux fur
  • synthetic fur
  • faux fur coat
  • faux fur trim
  • faux fur lining
Synonyms
  • faux fur

    preferred term in fashion retail; from French, sounds more polished than 'fake fur'

  • synthetic fur

    technical term emphasising the man-made fibres used

  • imitation fur

    slightly dated term; less common in modern catalogues

Antonyms
  • real fur

    genuine animal fur, as opposed to synthetic

Grammar Patterns

fake fur / faux fur + noun

made of fur (artificial)

Usage Note

Often called 'faux fur' (from French) in fashion and retail contexts. Distinct from 'real fur' — labels on clothing must legally specify which type is used in many countries.

Common Mistakes

This coat is made of faux animal fur.' (redundant)
This coat is made of faux fur.
'faux' already means fake or artificial.
Phrasal verbs

fur up

phrasal verb

to become covered on the inside with a hard layer of mineral deposits (limescale), especially in a kettle, pipe, or water heater.

This kettle has furred up badly because we never descale it.

The hot water pipes in the old house had furred up over decades of use.

Idioms

make the fur fly

idiom

to cause a lively, angry argument or a violent fight between people.

When Rachid discovered someone had borrowed his car without asking, it really made the fur fly.

the fur will fly

idiom

used to say that there will be a lot of anger and arguments about something.

If the manager finds out who broke the printer, the fur will fly.

fur — verb

fur — abbreviation

Word family

  • furry
    adjectiveB1
  • furred
    adjectiveB2
  • furrier
    nounC1
  • furring
    nounC1
  • faux fur
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Fur, hair, fleece, and coat all refer to the body covering of mammals, but they differ in typical use and connotation. Fur specifically describes the thick, soft, dense hair of animals such as cats, rabbits, and foxes—the kind that keeps them warm and is often used in clothing. Hair is the broader term, covering everything from human head hair to the coarse bristles of a wild boar; it implies individual strands rather than a dense layer. Fleece refers specifically to the soft, woolly coat of sheep or goats, and by extension to any fabric that mimics its texture. Coat describes the entire visible hair covering of an animal as a unified layer ('a dog with a glossy coat'), without specifying texture or density. In practice: 'The rabbit's fur is incredibly soft' (dense, warm layer), while 'His horse has a fine, short hair coat' (individual strands, less dense) and 'The shepherd sheared the sheep's thick fleece' (specific to wool-bearing animals).

furhairfleececoat

Common collocations

Nouns

  • animal fur
  • rabbit fur
  • fox fur
  • mink fur
  • fur industry
  • fur trade
  • fur farm

Phrases

  • fur trim
  • fur lining
  • fur collar
  • fur coat
  • fur jacket
  • fur hat
  • fake fur
  • faux fur

Prepositions

  • fur on the tongue
  • fur in the kettle
  • fur on the collar
  • fur around the hood

Etymology

Proto-GermanicFrankishOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'fur' entered English around the 1300s from Old French 'forrure' meaning 'lining, sheath', which came from 'forrer' — to line or cover. The French verb traced back to 'fuerre' (sheath), borrowed from Frankish '*fodr' (sheath, lining), itself from Proto-Germanic '*fōdrą' (sheath, lining). The original sense in English was 'the fur trimming or lining of a garment', and only later came to mean the animal hair itself by association with the material used. The sense of limescale developed metaphorically in the 1800s, likening the coating inside kettles to a layer of fur.