Lint is the common name for visible accumulations of textile fibers, hair and other materials, usually found on and around clothing.

Certain materials used in the manufacture of clothing, such as cotton, linen, and wool, contain numerous, very short fibers bundled together.

This is the reason why heavily used articles, such as shirts and towels, become thin over time and why such particles accumulate in the lint screen of a clothes dryer.

[11] The Infocom game, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was sold with a collection of "props" that included a small bag of "pocket fluff".

[12] Inhalation of excessive amounts of lint, as observed in early textile workers, may lead to diseases of the lungs, such as byssinosis.

"[16] Lint also presents a threat to the environment in spaces that generally do not experience human contact, constituting "one of the primary polluters" in cave exploration.

[18][19] In order to prevent lint contamination, workers entering clean rooms are generally required to wear an outer layer of clothing made from artificial fibers that are longer and thicker, and therefore much less likely to shed any material.

[24] However, because of this flammability, dryer lint may be collected for use as tinder,[25] although burning human-made fibres can produce toxic fumes.

[11] Lint was used as a form of wound treatment for cuts and sores as early as 1500 BC and as recently as the American Civil War.