fret
To chafe or irritate; to worryTo chafe or irritate; to worry.
» Not all string instruments have frets.
Meaning
17 senses(transitive)To chafe or irritate; to worry.
aufregen, ärgern, belästigen
беспоко́итьbespokóitʹ, волнова́тьvolnovátʹ
worry unnecessarily or excessively
(transitive)To make rough, to agitate or disturb; to cause to ripple.
the brooks fretting down their channels
Don't fret the surface of the lake.
(transitive)In the form fret out: to squander, to waste.
(ambitransitive)To gnaw; to consume, to eat away.
aufessen, fressen, auffressen
поеда́тьpojedátʹ, пожира́тьpožirátʹ
wear away or erode
(ambitransitive)To mine by agitating or eating away at (ore in the bank of a river).
(ambitransitive)To be chafed or irritated; to be angry or vexed; to utter peevish expressions through irritation or worry.
schimpfen
(intransitive)To be worn away; to chafe; to fray.
A wristband frets on the edges.
(intransitive)To be anxious, to worry.
sorgen, besorgen, beunruhigen
беспоко́итьсяbespokóitʹsja, волнова́тьсяvolnovátʹsja
(intransitive)To be agitated; to rankle; to be in violent commotion.
Rancour frets in the malignant breast.
be agitated or irritated
(intransitive)To have secondary fermentation (fermentation occurring after the conversion of sugar to alcohol in beers and wine) take place.
(transitive)To decorate or ornament, especially with an interlaced or interwoven pattern, or (architecture) with carving or relief (raised) work.
decorate with an interlaced design
(transitive)To form a pattern on; to variegate.
carve a pattern into
Examples
21 sentencesNot all string instruments have frets.
How many frets does your guitar have?
Tom asked me to help him put new frets on his guitar.
Tom asked me to help Mary put new frets on her guitar.
Don't fret about it.
ruНасчёт этого не переживай.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 5
By meaning 6
Origin
From Middle English frēten (“to eat (at), corrode, destroy, annoy”), from Old English fretFrom Middle English frēten (“to eat (at), corrode, destroy, annoy”), from Old English fretan (“to eat up, devour; to fret; to break, burst”), from Proto-West Germanic *fraetan, from Proto-Germanic *fraetaną (“to consume, devour, eat up”), from Proto-Germanic *fra- (“for-, prefix meaning ‘completely, fully’”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (“forward, toward”)) + *etaną (“to eat”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- (“to eat”)).
From Middle English frēten (“to decorate”), from Old French freté, freter, fretter (“to fret (decorate with an interlacing pattern)”), from Old French fret (from fraindre (“to break”), from Latin frangō (“to break, shatter”), + Old French -er (suffix forming verbs) (from Latin -āre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃enh₂- (“to burden, charge”)).
From Middle English freten (“to bind”), from Old French freter, from frete (“ferrule, ring”) (modern French frette). The origin of the music senses are uncertain; they are possibly from frete or from fret (“to chafe, rub”).
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Forms
frets, fretting, fretted, frettedSynonyms
14 synonymsWord family
7 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle