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fur

/fər/
/fə/
IPA guide

Other forms: furs

Fur is the fuzzy hair on an animal like a rabbit or a raccoon. One downside of having a cat or dog is that you often end up finding their fur all over your house.

Most mammals have fur, dense soft coats that protect them from becoming too cold or hot. Northern dog breeds, for example, have a double coat of fur, with the dense bottom coat keeping them warm even in the snow. Sometimes fur is used to mean "an animal's pelt" or "clothing made from the fur of an animal." The phrase "to make the fur fly" means "to cause serious trouble."

Definitions of fur
  1. noun
    dense coat of fine silky hairs on mammals (e.g., cat or seal or weasel)
    see moresee less
    types:
    undercoat, underfur
    thick soft fur lying beneath the longer and coarser guard hair
    type of:
    coat, pelage
    growth of hair or wool or fur covering the body of an animal
  2. noun
    the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
    synonyms: pelt
    see moresee less
    types:
    astrakhan
    the fur of young lambs
    bearskin
    the pelt of a bear (sometimes used as a rug)
    beaver, beaver fur
    the soft brown fur of the beaver
    chinchilla
    the expensive silvery grey fur of the chinchilla
    ermine
    the expensive white fur of the ermine
    fox
    the grey or reddish-brown fur of a fox
    lambskin
    the skin of a lamb with the wool still on
    lapin, rabbit
    the fur of a rabbit
    leopard
    the pelt of a leopard
    mink
    the expensive fur of a mink
    muskrat, muskrat fur
    the brown fur of a muskrat
    otter
    the fur of an otter
    raccoon
    the fur of the North American racoon
    sable
    the expensive dark brown fur of the marten
    seal, sealskin
    the pelt or fur (especially the underfur) of a seal
    squirrel
    the fur of a squirrel
    broadtail
    the fur of a very young karakul lamb
    Persian lamb
    the fur of a karakul lamb
    hudson seal
    muskrat fur dressed to simulate sealskin
    type of:
    animal skin
    the outer covering of an animal
  3. noun
    a garment made of the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
    see moresee less
    type of:
    garment
    an article of clothing
Pronunciation
US
/fər/
UK
/fə/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘fur'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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