FRET (fretted, fretting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: fretted    , fretting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fret mean? 

• FRET (noun)
  The noun FRET has 4 senses:

1. agitation resulting from active worry

2. a spot that has been worn away by abrasion or erosion

3. an ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief)

4. 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

  Familiarity information: FRET used as a noun is uncommon.

• FRET (verb)
  The verb FRET has 12 senses:

1. worry unnecessarily or excessively

2. be agitated or irritated

3. provide (a musical instrument) with frets

4. become or make sore by or as if by rubbing

5. cause annoyance in

6. gnaw into; make resentful or angry

7. carve a pattern into

8. decorate with an interlaced design

9. be too tight; rub or press

10. cause friction

11. remove soil or rock

12. wear away or erode

  Familiarity information: FRET used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FRET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Agitation resulting from active worry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

fret; lather; stew; sweat; swither

Context example:

he's in a sweat about exams

Hypernyms ("fret" is a kind of...):

agitation (a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance)

Derivation:

fret (worry unnecessarily or excessively)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A spot that has been worn away by abrasion or erosion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

fret; worn spot

Hypernyms ("fret" is a kind of...):

dapple; fleck; maculation; patch; speckle; spot (a small contrasting part of something)

Derivation:

fret (become or make sore by or as if by rubbing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fret; Greek fret; Greek key; key pattern

Context example:

there was a simple fret at the top of the walls

Hypernyms ("fret" is a kind of...):

architectural ornament ((architecture) something added to a building to improve its appearance)

Derivation:

fret (decorate with an interlaced design)

fret (carve a pattern into)

Sense 4

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("fret" is a kind of...):

bar (a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon)

Derivation:

fret (provide (a musical instrument) with frets)

• FRET (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they fret    ... he / she / it frets   
Past simple: fretted   
Past participle: fretted   
-ing form: fretting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Worry unnecessarily or excessively

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

fret; fuss; niggle

Context example:

don't fuss too much over the grandchildren--they are quite big now

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fret"):

scruple (raise scruples)

dither; flap; pother (make a fuss; be agitated)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue fret over the results of the experiment

Derivation:

fret (agitation resulting from active worry)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be agitated or irritated

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

don't fret over these small details

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fret"):

dither (act nervously; be undecided; be uncertain)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue fret

Sense 3

Meaning:

Provide (a musical instrument) with frets

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

fret a guitar

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fret (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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Become or make sore by or as if by rubbing

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

chafe; fret; gall

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

irritate (excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

fret (a spot that has been worn away by abrasion or erosion)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Cause annoyance in

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex (cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations)

Cause:

fret (be agitated or irritated)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 6

Meaning:

Gnaw into; make resentful or angry

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

eat into; fret; grate; rankle

Context example:

his resentment festered

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex (cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will fret him

Sense 7

Meaning:

Carve a pattern into

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

carve (form by carving)

Domain category:

handicraft (a craft that requires skillful hands)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fret"):

honeycomb (carve a honeycomb pattern into)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fret (an ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief))

Sense 8

Meaning:

Decorate with an interlaced design

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

adorn; beautify; decorate; embellish; grace; ornament (make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fret (an ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief))

Sense 9

Meaning:

Be too tight; rub or press

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

choke; fret; gag

Context example:

This neckband is choking the cat

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

compact; compress; constrict; contract; press; squeeze (squeeze or press together)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 10

Meaning:

Cause friction

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

chafe; fray; fret; rub; scratch

Context example:

my sweater scratches

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

adjoin; contact; meet; touch (be in direct physical contact with; make contact)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s somebody

Sense 11

Meaning:

Remove soil or rock

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

eat away; erode; fret

Context example:

Rain eroded the terraces

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

damage (inflict damage upon)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fret"):

wash (form by erosion)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 12

Meaning:

Wear away or erode

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

eat away; fret

Hypernyms (to "fret" is one way to...):

corrode; rust (become destroyed by water, air, or a corrosive such as an acid)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

 Context examples 

Now, my dear young ladies, remember what your ma said, and don't fret.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Lucy frets at the postponement of seeing him, but it does not touch her looks; she is a trifle stouter, and her cheeks are a lovely rose-pink.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I tell you, lad, that I am all undone, like a fretted bow-string.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Run away, little woman, and don't fret.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Tom himself began to fret over the scene-painter's slow progress, and to feel the miseries of waiting.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

"I see I have the means of fretting him out of his melancholy for some time to come."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“Then you are fretting about General Tilney, and that is very simple of you; for ten to one whether you ever see him again. You should never fret about trifles.”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

You have now done your duty by her, and must fret no longer.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

She was sure it was very ill—it cried, and fretted, and was all over pimples.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Perpetual fretting at length threw Madame Moritz into a decline, which at first increased her irritability, but she is now at peace for ever.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)