Iron vs. Fiber — What's the Difference?

Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from Latin: ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table.

Fiber or fibre (from Latin: fibra) is a natural or man-made substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials.

Symbol Fe A silvery-white, lustrous, malleable, ductile, magnetic or magnetizable, metallic element occurring abundantly in combined forms, notably in hematite, limonite, magnetite, and taconite, and used alloyed in a wide range of important structural materials. Atomic number 26; atomic weight 55.845; melting point 1,538°C; boiling point 2,861°C; specific gravity 7.874 (at 20°C); valence 2, 3, 4, 6. See Periodic Table.

A slender, elongated, threadlike object or structure.

An implement made of iron alloy or similar metal, especially a bar heated for use in branding, curling hair, or cauterizing.

(Botany) One of the elongated, thick-walled cells that give strength and support to plant tissue.

Great hardness or strength; firmness

Any of the filaments constituting the extracellular matrix of connective tissue.

(Sports) Any of a series of golf clubs having a bladelike metal head and numbered from one to nine in order of increasing loft.

Any of various elongated cells or threadlike structures, especially a muscle fiber or a nerve fiber.

A metal appliance with a handle and a weighted flat bottom, used when heated to press wrinkles from fabric.

A natural or synthetic filament, as of cotton or nylon, capable of being spun into yarn.

A harpoon.

Material made of such filaments.

Irons Fetters; shackles.

An essential element of a person's character

A tonic, pill, or other medication containing iron and taken as a dietary supplement.

Strength of character; fortitude

Made of or containing iron

Coarse, indigestible plant matter, consisting primarily of polysaccharides such as cellulose, that when eaten stimulates intestinal peristalsis. Also called bulk, roughage.

Strong, healthy, and capable of great endurance

(countable) A single elongated piece of a given material, roughly round in cross-section, often twisted with other fibers to form thread.

Inflexible; unyielding

(uncountable) A material in the form of fibers.

Holding tightly; very firm

(textiles) A material whose length is at least 1000 times its width.

To press and smooth with a heated iron

Dietary fiber.

To remove (creases) by pressing.

(figuratively) Moral strength and resolve.

To put into irons; fetter.

(mathematics) The preimage of a given point in the range of a map.

To fit or clad with iron.

(category theory) The pullback of a morphism along a global element (called the fiber of the morphism over the global element).

To iron clothes.

(computing) A kind of lightweight thread of execution.

(uncountable) A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.

(cytology) A long tubular cell found in bodily tissue.

A metallic chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe.

One of the delicate, threadlike portions of which the tissues of plants and animals are in part constituted; as, the fiber of flax or of muscle.

Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.

Any fine, slender thread, or threadlike substance; as, a fiber of spun glass; especially, one of the slender rootlets of a plant.

(countable) A tool or appliance made of metal, which is heated and then used to transfer heat to something else; most often a thick piece of metal fitted with a handle and having a flat, roughly triangular bottom, which is heated and used to press wrinkles from clothing, and now usually containing an electrical heating apparatus.

The inherent complex of attributes that determine a person's moral and ethical actions and reactions; sinew; strength; toughness; as, a man of real fiber.

(usually plural, irons) shackles.

A general name for the raw material, such as cotton, flax, hemp, etc., used in textile manufactures.

(slang) A firearm, either a long gun or a handgun.

That portion of food composed of carbohydrates which are completely or partly indigestible, such as cellulose or pectin; it may be in an insoluble or a soluble form. It provides bulk to the solid waste and stimulates peristalsis in the intestine. It is found especially in grains, fruits, and vegetables. There is some medical evidence which indicates that diets high in fiber reduce the risk of colon cancer and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also called dietary fiber, roughage, or bulk.

(uncountable) A dark shade of the color silver.

A leatherlike material made by compressing layers of paper or cloth.

A male homosexual.

A slender and greatly elongated solid substance

(golf) A golf club used for middle-distance shots.

The inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions;

Used as a symbol of great strength or toughness, or to signify a very strong or tough material.

A leatherlike material made by compressing layers of paper or cloth

(weightlifting) Weight used as resistance for the purpose of strength training.

A meteorite consisting primarily of metallic iron (mixed with a small amount of nickel), as opposed to one composed mainly of stony material.

A safety curtain in a theatre.

Dumb bombs, those without guidance systems.

(not comparable) Made of the metal iron.

(figuratively) Strong as of will, inflexible.

(transitive) To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases.

To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff.

(transitive) To furnish or arm with iron.

The most common and most useful metallic element, being of almost universal occurrence, usually in the form of an oxide (as hematite, magnetite, etc.), or a hydrous oxide (as limonite, turgite, etc.). It is reduced on an enormous scale in three principal forms; viz., cast iron, steel, and wrought iron. Iron usually appears dark brown, from oxidation or impurity, but when pure, or on a fresh surface, is a gray or white metal. It is easily oxidized (rusted) by moisture, and is attacked by many corrosive agents. Symbol Fe (Latin Ferrum). Atomic number 26, atomic weight 55.847. Specific gravity, pure iron, 7.86; cast iron, 7.1. In magnetic properties, it is superior to all other substances.

An instrument or utensil made of iron; - chiefly in composition; as, a flatiron, a smoothing iron, etc.

Fetters; chains; handcuffs; manacles.

Strength; power; firmness; inflexibility; as, to rule with a rod of iron.

An iron-headed club with a deep face, chiefly used in making approaches, lifting a ball over hazards, etc.

Of, or made of iron; consisting of iron; as, an iron bar, dust.

Resembling iron in color; as, iron blackness.

Like iron in hardness, strength, impenetrability, power of endurance, insensibility, etc.;

Rude; hard; harsh; severe.

Firm; robust; enduring; as, an iron constitution.

Inflexible; unrelenting; as, an iron will.

Not to be broken; holding or binding fast; tenacious.

To smooth with an instrument of iron; especially, to smooth, as cloth, with a heated flatiron; - sometimes used with out.

To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff.

To furnish or arm with iron; as, to iron a wagon.

A heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood

A golf club that has a relatively narrow metal head

Metal shackles; for hands or legs

Implement used to brand live stock

Home appliance consisting of a flat metal base that is heated and used to smooth cloth

Press and smooth with a heated iron;

Extremely robust;