verb to worry or be unhappy ○ She’s fretting about her exams. (NOTE: fretting – fretted) ■ noun the raised metal strip crossing the neck of a guitar against which you press the strings ○ Place your fingers so that you can feel the fret.
fret
(fret), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fretted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fretting.] [OE. freten to eat, consume; AS. fretan, for foretan; pref. for- + etan to eat; akin to D. vreten, OHG. frezzan, G. fressen, Sw. fräta, Goth. fra-itan. See For, and Eat, v. t.]
1. To devour. [Obs.] “The sow frete the child right in the cradle.” Chaucer.
2. To rub; to wear away by friction; to chafe; to gall; hence, to eat away; to gnaw; as to fret cloth; to fret a piece of gold or other metal; a worm frets the plants of a ship. “With many a curve my banks I fret.” Tennyson.
3. To impair; to wear away; to diminish. “By starts
His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear.” Shak.
4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple; as to fret the surface of water.
5. To tease; to irritate; to vex. “Fret not thyself because of evil doers.” Ps. xxxvii. 1.
1. To devour. [Obs.] “The sow frete the child right in the cradle.” Chaucer.
2. To rub; to wear away by friction; to chafe; to gall; hence, to eat away; to gnaw; as to fret cloth; to fret a piece of gold or other metal; a worm frets the plants of a ship. “With many a curve my banks I fret.” Tennyson.
3. To impair; to wear away; to diminish. “By starts
His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear.” Shak.
4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple; as to fret the surface of water.
5. To tease; to irritate; to vex. “Fret not thyself because of evil doers.” Ps. xxxvii. 1.
fret
v. i. 1. To be worn away; to chafe; to fray; as a wristband frets on the edges.
2. To eat in; to make way by corrosion. “Many wheals arose, and fretted one into another with great excoriation.” Wiseman.
3. To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as rancor frets in the malignant breast.
4. To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter peevish expressions. “He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground.” Dryden.
2. To eat in; to make way by corrosion. “Many wheals arose, and fretted one into another with great excoriation.” Wiseman.
3. To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as rancor frets in the malignant breast.
4. To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter peevish expressions. “He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground.” Dryden.
fret
n. 1. The agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or other cause; a rippling on the surface of water. Addison.
2. Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation; as he keeps his mind in a continual fret. “Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret.” Pope.
3. Herpes; tetter. Dunglison.
4. pl. (Mining) The worn sides of river banks, where ores, or stones containing them, accumulate by being washed down from the hills, and thus indicate to the miners the locality of the veins.
2. Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation; as he keeps his mind in a continual fret. “Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret.” Pope.
3. Herpes; tetter. Dunglison.
4. pl. (Mining) The worn sides of river banks, where ores, or stones containing them, accumulate by being washed down from the hills, and thus indicate to the miners the locality of the veins.
Meaning of “fret” in English language – verb to worry or be unhappy ○ She’s fret...
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