fret

1 of 6

verb (1)

ˈfret 

fretted; fretting

transitive verb

1

a

: 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

4

: agitate, ripple

fret the surface of the lake

intransitive verb

1

a

: to eat into something

b

: to affect something as if by gnawing or biting : grate

the … urgent voice fretted at his nerves

—Graham Greene

2

a

: wear, corrode

Marble frets away due to the rain.

b

: chafe

His back where the harness rubbed began to fret.

c

: fray sense 1

3

a

: to become vexed or worried

fretting over the high cost of feeding their families

—Vance Packard

b

of running water : to become agitated

a brook fretting over rocks

fret

2 of 6

noun (1)

1

a

: the action of wearing away : erosion

b

: a worn or eroded spot

2

: an agitation of mind : irritation

fret

3 of 6

verb (2)

fretted; fretting

transitive verb

1

a

: to decorate with interlaced designs

b

: to form a pattern upon

2

: to enrich with embossed or pierced carved patterns

fret

4 of 6

noun (2)

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

• fret 2

fret

5 of 6

noun (3)

: one of a series of ridges fixed across the fingerboard of a stringed musical instrument (such as a guitar)

fretless adjective

fretted adjective

fret

6 of 6

verb (3)

fretted; fretting

transitive verb

: to press (the strings of a stringed instrument) against the frets

Did you know?

Fret and Eating

Fret not about being unfamiliar with the history of the verb fret; we’ve got something for you to chew on. While fretting today usually involves a concern that is figuratively eating at someone, fret has older senses that apply to literal eating. Fret comes from the Old English verb fretan, “to devour,” which shares an ancestor with another verb, etan, the ancestor of eat. In centuries past, animals—or monsters, in the case of Grendel—were said to fret, as were substances that corrode, or eat away, at other substances. But it wasn’t long before fret was also applied to emotional experiences, as when someone frets over an all-consuming thought or trouble. While fret still carries the meanings of “to corrode,” “to fray,” and “to chafe,” among others, one is most likely to encounter its more angsty sense of “to worry or be concerned.”

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• bite (at)
• corrode
• eat
• erode
• gnaw
• nibble

Noun (1)

• dither
• fluster
• fuss
• huff
• lather
• pother
• stew
• sweat
• swelter
• swivet
• tizzy
• twitter

Examples of fret in a Sentence

Verb (1)

over the span of thousands of years, the annual spring runoff fretted the rock, forming a deep channel

don't let the girth fret the horse's belly or you won't be able to ride him

don't fret over whether it will be sunny tomorrow, as there's nothing we can do about it

the stiff, starchy collar was fretting my neck, and I couldn't wait to change out of that costume

Noun (1)

one of my customers always gets into a fret if I'm so much as 15 minutes late delivering his newspaper

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The stock took a beating on the appointment, however, as investors fretted over controversy surrounding Gvasalia’s earlier work on a 2022 ad campaign at smaller Kering label Balenciaga label. —Karen Gilchrist, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2025

Some real estate tycoons, who are actively developing, have to fret over the cost of building materials. —Dan Alexander, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025

Noun

The man’s cheek bears a set of still-bleeding claw marks, definitive as guitar frets. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Apr. 2025

But fret not — the show has already been renewed for a fourth season. —Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1) and Noun (1)

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

Verb (2)

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

Noun (3)

perhaps from Middle French frete ferrule, from freter

First Known Use

Verb (1)

12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

circa 1500, in the meaning defined above

Verb (3)

1602, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fret

• bet
• brett
• debt
• et
• get
• jet
• let
• lett
• met
• net
• nett
• pet

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Kids Definition

fret

1 of 4 verb

ˈfret 

fretted; fretting

1

: to make or become worried

fret over a problem

2

: to eat into or wear away

adobe fretted clean by wind and sand

fret

2 of 4 noun

: an irritated or worried state

in a fret

fret

3 of 4 noun

: an ornamental design of short lines or bars

fret

4 of 4 noun

: one of a series of ridges fixed across the fingerboard of a stringed musical instrument

fretless

ˈfret-ləs

adjective

fretted

ˈfret-əd

adjective

Etymology

Verb

Old English fretan "to devour"

Noun

Middle English fret, fretted "interwoven," from early French fretté, past participle of fretter "to tie"

Noun

perhaps from early French frete "connecting sleeve"