Definition of fret
fretted
;fretting
transitive verb
1a : to eat or gnaw into : corrode; also : fray The acid fretted the metal.b : rub, chafe The harness strap was fretting the horse.c : to make by wearing away a substance the stream fretted a channel
2 : to cause to suffer emotional strain : vex don't you fret yourself about me — J. C. Powys
3 : to pass (time) in fretting a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage — William Shakespeare
intransitive verb
1a : to eat into somethingb : to affect something as if by gnawing or biting : grate the … urgent voice fretted at his nerves — Graham Greene
2a : wear, corrode Marble frets away due to the rain.b : chafe His back where the harness rubbed began to fret.c : fray 1
3a : to become vexed or worried fretting over the high cost of feeding their families — Vance Packardb of running water : to become agitated a brook fretting over rocks
From the M-W Editors
fret was our Word of the Day on 08/19/2016. Hear the podcast!
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fret and Eating
Since its first use centuries ago, fret has referred to an act of eating, especially when done by animals—in particular, small ones. You might speak, for example, of moths fretting your clothing. Like eat, fret also developed figurative senses to describe actions that corrode or wear away. A river could be said to "fret away" at its banks or something might be said to be "fretted out" with time or age. Fret can also be applied to emotional experiences so that something that "eats away at us" might be said to "fret the heart or mind." This use developed into the specific meaning of "vex" or "worry" with which we often use fret today.
Origin and Etymology of fret
Middle English, to devour, fret, from Old English fretan to devour; akin to Old High German frezzan to devour, ezzan to eat — more at eat
fret
Definition of fret
1a : the action of wearing away : erosionb : a worn or eroded spot
2 : an agitation of mind : irritation
Origin and Etymology of fret
see 1fret
fret
Definition of fret
fretted
;fretting
transitive verb
1a : to decorate with interlaced designsb : to form a pattern upon
2 : to enrich with embossed or pierced carved patterns
Origin and Etymology of fret
Middle English, back-formation from fret, fretted adorned, interwoven, from Anglo-French fretté, past participle of fretter to tie, probably from Vulgar Latin *firmitare, from Latin firmus firm
fret
Definition of fret
1 : an ornamental network; especially : a medieval metallic or jeweled net for a woman's headdress
2 : an ornament or ornamental work often in relief consisting of small straight bars intersecting one another in right or oblique angles
Illustration of fret
First Known Use of fret
14th century
fret
Definition of fret
: one of a series of ridges fixed across the fingerboard of a stringed musical instrument (such as a guitar)
fretless
adjectivefretted
adjectiveOrigin and Etymology of fret
perhaps from Middle French frete ferrule, from freter
fret
Definition of fret
fretted
;fretting
transitive verb
: to press (the strings of a stringed instrument) against the frets
First Known Use of fret
1602
FRET Defined for Kids
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