fret

¹ American  

[fret] / frɛt /

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:

   rage, fume

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 byaway ).

   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.

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verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting

1. to torment; irritate, annoy, or vex.

   You mustn't fret yourself about that.

   Synonyms:

   tease, goad, harass, worry

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

   the ocean fretting its shores.

   Synonyms:

   rub, grind, abrade, corrode, gnaw, erode

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:

   worry, agitation, harassment

2. Now Rare.

   1. a wearing away; erosion; corrosion.

   2. a worn or eroded place.

fret ² American  

[fret] / frɛt /

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.

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verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting

1. to ornament with a fret or fretwork.

fret ³ American  

[fret] / frɛt /

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.

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verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting

1. to provide with frets.

fret ¹ British  

/ frɛt /

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

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noun

1. a state of irritation or anxiety

2. the result of fretting; corrosion

3. a hole or channel caused by fretting

fret ² British  

/ frɛt /

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

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verb

1. (tr) to ornament with fret or fretwork

fret ³ British  

/ frɛt /

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

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fret ⁴ British  

/ frɛt /

noun

1. short for sea fret

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Other Word Forms

• fretless adjective
• fretter noun

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

That sent chills down the spines of Motor City executives who fretted—fairly perhaps—about safety and their pecking order in the world.

From The Wall Street Journal

The surprise profit is good news for investors, who have been fretting about the impact a bruising price war in China would have on the bottom line for XPeng and other EV makers.

From Barron's

Energy stocks were broadly lower in India as investors fretted about profit margins squeezes for marketers and refiners, and the potential threat of inflation shocks.

From The Wall Street Journal

Just when Europe’s central bankers thought they had finally overcome stubborn inflation, the war in Iran sparked an oil rally that means the continent’s policymakers are once again fretting about price pressures.

From Barron's

And now she was back to fretting about my running around with boys, worrying that Ba would somehow find out and disapprove, doubting that I could snag a boy like James.

From Literature

Related Words

• agonize
• bother
• brood
• carp
• chafe
• fume
• fuss
• grieve