51Թ

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View synonyms for

fret

1

[ fret ]

verb (used without object)

fretted, fretting.
  1. to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like:

    Fretting about the lost ring isn't going to help.

    Synonyms: ,

  2. to cause corrosion; gnaw into something:

    acids that fret at the strongest metals.

  3. to make a way by gnawing, corrosion, wearing away, etc.:

    The river frets at its banks until a new channel is formed.

  4. to become eaten, worn, or corroded (often followed by away ):

    Limestone slowly frets away under pounding by the wind and rain.

  5. to move in agitation or commotion, as water:

    water fretting over the stones of a brook.



verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting.
  1. to torment; irritate, annoy, or vex:

    You mustn't fret yourself about that.

    Synonyms: , , ,

  2. to wear away or consume by gnawing, friction, rust, corrosives, etc.:

    the ocean fretting its shores.

    Synonyms: , , , , ,

  3. to form or make by wearing away a substance:

    The river had fretted an underground passage.

  4. to agitate (water):

    Strong winds were fretting the channel.

noun

  1. an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

    Synonyms: , ,

  2. Now Rare.
    1. a wearing away; erosion; corrosion.
    2. a worn or eroded place.

fret

2

[ fret ]

noun

  1. an interlaced, angular design; fretwork.
  2. an angular design of bands within a border.
  3. Heraldry. a charge composed of two diagonal strips interlacing with and crossing at the center of a mascle.
  4. a piece of decoratively pierced work placed in a clock case to deaden the sound of the mechanism.

verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting.
  1. to ornament with a fret or fretwork.

fret

3

[ fret ]

noun

  1. any of the ridges of wood, metal, or string, set across the fingerboard of a guitar, lute, or similar instrument, which help the fingers to stop the strings at the correct points.

verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting.
  1. to provide with frets.

fret

1

/ ڰɛ /

verb

  1. to distress or be distressed; worry
  2. to rub or wear away
  3. to irritate or be irritated; feel or give annoyance or vexation
  4. to eat away or be eaten away by chemical action; corrode
  5. intr (of a road surface) to become loose so that potholes develop; scab
  6. to agitate (water) or (of water) to be agitated
  7. tr to make by wearing away; erode
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a state of irritation or anxiety
  2. the result of fretting; corrosion
  3. a hole or channel caused by fretting
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fret

2

/ ڰɛ /

noun

  1. a repetitive geometrical figure, esp one used as an ornamental border
  2. such a pattern made in relief and with numerous small openings; fretwork
  3. heraldry a charge on a shield consisting of a mascle crossed by a saltire
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. tr to ornament with fret or fretwork
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fret

3

/ ڰɛ /

noun

  1. any of several small metal bars set across the fingerboard of a musical instrument of the lute, guitar, or viol family at various points along its length so as to produce the desired notes when the strings are stopped by the fingers
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fret

4

/ ڰɛ /

noun

  1. short for sea fret
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈڰٱ, adjective
  • ˈڰٱ, adjective
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Other 51Թs From

  • ڰt noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of fret1

First recorded before 900; Middle English freten, freoten, vreten “to eat up, consume greedily, devour,” Old English fretan “to eat up, consume, devour”; cognate with Old Saxon fretan, Gothic fra-itan, Old High German frezzan ( German fressen “to feed, devour”), from Germanic fra-etan, equivalent to fra- for- ( def ) + etan eat ( def )

Origin of fret2

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fret, frette, probably from Old French frete “trelliswork,” possibly from a Germanic source; compare Old English frættewian, frætwian, fretwian “to adorn, embroider, trim”

Origin of fret3

First recorded in 1490–1500; origin uncertain
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of fret1

Old English fretan to eat ; related to Old High German frezzan , Gothic fraitan , Latin peredere

Origin of fret2

C14: from Old French frete interlaced design used on a shield, probably of Germanic origin

Origin of fret3

C16: of unknown origin
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Example Sentences

Some senior Labour figures fret privately that their talk of "missions" and a "Plan for Change" might seem puny to many in comparison with the scale of that challenge.

From

Like many anxious parents, Beth Spektor spent the last few weeks fretting over how to protect her infant daughter from the first deadly measles outbreak to hit the U.S. in a decade.

From

Undoubtedly the prospect of millions of Americans fretting about where they can afford to safely go for a summer holiday bothers him not at all.

From

He fretted as Trump declared Feb. 9 to be Gulf of America Day, saying it was part of restoring “American pride in the history of American greatness,” and as the U.S.

From

Then you chuck in all that obsessing over being single, and Bridget's fretting over her calorie intake.

From

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