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• ret
  ret

  verb (used with object)

  to soak in water or expose to moisture, as flax or hemp, to facilitate the removal of the fiber from the woody tissue by partial rotting.
• ret.
  ret.

  abbreviation

  retain.

ret

¹ American  

[ret] / rɛt /

verb (used with object)

retted, retting

1. to soak in water or expose to moisture, as flax or hemp, to facilitate the removal of the fiber from the woody tissue by partial rotting.

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ret. ² American  

abbreviation

1. retain.

2. retired.

3. return.

4. returned.

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ret British  

/ rɛt /

verb

1. (tr) to moisten or soak (flax, hemp, jute, etc) to promote bacterial action in order to facilitate separation of the fibres from the woody tissue by beating

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unretted
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of ret

1400–50; late Middle English reten, retten; cognate with Dutch reten (compare Dutch roten, German rössen, Swedish röta ); akin to rot

Example Sentences

Gies, who is around 60, said his motivation for creating Madison Air was his realization that “indoor air quality was horrible,” according to a Ret ail Roadshow.com presentation External link.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

He added, “if what I’m told about the attempts to bring Ret Marine Paul Whelan home are true, then the best outcome was accomplished.”

From Washington Times • Dec. 8, 2022

Published in Hindi in 2018 with the title Ret Samadhi, it traces the transformative journey of Ma, who becomes depressed after the death of her husband.

From BBC • May 26, 2022

Speaking to the idea of someone possibly forgetting what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, Ret.

From Fox News • Sep. 11, 2021

Ret, ret, v.t. to expose hemp, jute, &c. to moisture.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various