'Fret' definitions:

Definition of 'fret'

From: WordNet
noun
Agitation resulting from active worry; "don't get in a stew"; "he's in a sweat about exams" [syn: fret, stew, sweat, lather, swither]
noun
A spot that has been worn away by abrasion or erosion [syn: worn spot, fret]
noun
An ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief); "there was a simple fret at the top of the walls" [syn: fret, Greek fret, Greek key, key pattern]
noun
A small bar of metal across the fingerboard of a musical instrument; when the string is stopped by a finger at the metal bar it will produce a note of the desired pitch
verb
Worry unnecessarily or excessively; "don't fuss too much over the grandchildren--they are quite big now" [syn: fuss, niggle, fret]
verb
Be agitated or irritated; "don't fret over these small details"
verb
Provide (a musical instrument) with frets; "fret a guitar"
verb
Become or make sore by or as if by rubbing [syn: chafe, gall, fret]
verb
Cause annoyance in
verb
Gnaw into; make resentful or angry; "The injustice rankled her"; "his resentment festered" [syn: eat into, fret, rankle, grate]
verb
Carve a pattern into
verb
Decorate with an interlaced design
verb
Be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the cat" [syn: choke, gag, fret]
verb
Cause friction; "my sweater scratches" [syn: rub, fray, fret, chafe, scratch]
verb
Remove soil or rock; "Rain eroded the terraces" [syn: erode, eat away, fret]
verb
Wear away or erode [syn: fret, eat away]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\, v. i.
  • 1. To be worn away; to chafe; to fray; as, a wristband frets on the edges. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To eat in; to make way by corrosion. [1913 Webster]
  • Many wheals arose, and fretted one into another with great excoriation. --Wiseman. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as, rancor frets in the malignant breast. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter peevish expressions. [1913 Webster]
  • He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\ (fr[e^]t), n. [Obs.] See 1st Frith. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\ (fr[e^]t), 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. fr[aum]ta, Goth. fra-itan. See For, and Eat, v. t.]
  • 1. To devour. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • The sow frete the child right in the cradle. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • With many a curve my banks I fret. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To impair; to wear away; to diminish. [1913 Webster]
  • By starts His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple; as, to fret the surface of water. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To tease; to irritate; to vex. [1913 Webster]
  • Fret not thyself because of evil doers. --Ps. xxxvii. 1. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\, n.
  • 1. The agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or other cause; a rippling on the surface of water. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation; as, he keeps his mind in a continual fret. [1913 Webster]
  • Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Herpes; tetter. --Dunglison. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\, n. [F. frette a saltire, also a hoop, ferrule, prob. a dim. of L. ferrum iron. For sense 2, cf. also E. fret to rub.]
  • 1. (Her.) A saltire interlaced with a mascle. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Mus.) A short piece of wire, or other material fixed across the finger board of a guitar or a similar instrument, to indicate where the finger is to be placed. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\, v. t. [OE. fretten to adorn, AS. fr[ae]twan, fr[ae]twian; akin to OS. fratah[=o]n, cf. Goth. us-fratwjan to make wise, also AS. fr[ae]twe ornaments, OS. fratah[imac] adornment.] To ornament with raised work; to variegate; to diversify. [1913 Webster]
  • Whose skirt with gold was fretted all about. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
  • Yon gray lines, That fret the clouds, are messengers of day. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\, v. t. To furnish with frets, as an instrument of music. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Fret'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\, n.
  • 1. Ornamental work in relief, as carving or embossing. See Fretwork. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Arch.) An ornament consisting of small fillets or slats intersecting each other or bent at right angles, as in classical designs, or at oblique angles, as often in Oriental art. [1913 Webster]
  • His lady's cabinet is a adorned on the fret, ceiling, and chimney-piece with . . . carving. --Evelyn. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. The reticulated headdress or net, made of gold or silver wire, in which ladies in the Middle Ages confined their hair. [1913 Webster]
  • A fret of gold she had next her hair. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • Fret saw, a saw with a long, narrow blade, used in cutting frets, scrolls, etc.; a scroll saw; a keyhole saw; a compass saw. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'fret'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Fret'