retch

verb

ˈrech 

especially British

ˈrēch 

retched; retching; retches

transitive verb

: vomit sense 1

intransitive verb

: to make an effort to vomit

also : vomit

retch noun

Synonyms of retch

• vomit

Examples of retch in a Sentence

the smell of rotten cabbage makes me retch

Recent Examples on the Web

The Captain’s Dinner scene in the 2022 film Triangle of Sadness, with its opera of vomit, is satire in a long-standing tradition, going back to the retching sequence on the boat in Céline’s Mort à crédit, and before that to Rabelais. — Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026

Even the sound of the breaking chips made June retch. — Literary Hub, 20 Mar. 2026

As Newcastle prepared to kick-off towards the Gallowgate End, Ramsey began retching. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026

Vomiting and retching can occur up to five times an hour. — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English *rechen to spit, retch, from Old English hrǣcan to spit, hawk; akin to Old Norse hrækja to spit

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for retch

• etch
• fetch
• fletch
• ketch
• sketch
• stretch
• vetch
• wretch

Kids Definition

retch

verb

ˈrech 

British

rēch 

1

: vomit entry 2 sense 1

2

: to try to vomit

Medical Definition

retch

intransitive verb

ˈrech, especially British ˈrēch

: to make an effort to vomit

transitive verb

: vomit

retch noun