chafe

American  

[cheyf] / tʃeɪf /

verb (used with object)

• chafes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chafed,
  past participle,  past
• chafing
  present participle

1. to wear or abrade by rubbing.

   He chafed his shoes on the rocks.

2. to make sore by rubbing.

   Her collar chafed her neck.

3. to irritate; annoy.

   The dripping of the faucet chafed her nerves.

   Synonyms:

   provoke, trouble, vex, exasperate

4. to warm by rubbing.

   to chafe cold hands.

5. Obsolete. to heat; make warm.

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verb (used without object)

• chafes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chafed,
  past participle,  past
• chafing
  present participle

1. to become worn or sore from rubbing.

   His neck began to chafe from the starched collar.

2. to rub; press with friction.

   The horse chafed against his stall.

3. to be irritated or annoyed.

   He chafed at their constant interruptions.

noun

1. irritation; annoyance.

2. heat, wear, or soreness caused by rubbing.

idioms

1. chafe at the bit, to become impatient at delay.

   The work was going very slowly, and he began to chafe at the bit.

chafe British  

/ tʃeɪf /

verb

1. to make or become sore or worn by rubbing

2. (tr) to warm (the hands, etc) by rubbing

3. to irritate or be irritated or impatient

   he was chafed because he was not allowed out

4. (intr; often foll by on, against, etc) to cause friction; rub

5. See champ 1

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noun

1. a soreness or irritation caused by friction

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overchafe
  verb
• nonchafing
  adjective
• unchafed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• chafing
  present
• chafed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• chafe
  simple
• chafes
  simple
• have chafed
  perfect
• has chafed
  perfect
• am chafing
  progressive
• are chafing
  progressive
• is chafing
  progressive
• have been chafing
  perfect progressive
• has been chafing
  perfect progressive

Past

• chafed
  simple
• had chafed
  perfect
• was chafing
  progressive
• were chafing
  progressive
• had been chafing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will chafe
  simple
• will have chafed
  perfect
• will be chafing
  progressive
• will have been chafing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of chafe

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English chaufen “to heat, rub,” from Middle French chaufer, from Vulgar Latin calfāre (unrecorded), variant of Latin cal(e)facere, from cale-, stem of calēre “to be hot” + facere “to do, make”

Explanation

To chafe is to irritate or annoy. If your shoes chafe you, they rub your skin raw. Ouch. If you chafe at the suggestion that you should be studying more, the suggestion rubs you the wrong way. Chafe originally meant to warm, like a chafing dish on a hotel buffet. Though this may seem like a big jump, think of when your hands are cold and you rub them together to warm them up. So you can say that rubbed skin is kind of hot as is a temper flaring up from irritation. If you are a hot head, you are easily chafed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chafe chafes chafed chafing

You respect the rules even if you chafe at some of them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

A growing segment of Angelenos also chafe at the city’s high cost of living.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

Investors, though, have found various reasons to chafe at Microsoft’s story.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 30, 2026

They might chafe at the regulatory sovereignty of American regulators, especially as other jurisdictions are attempting to establish themselves as crypto centers.

From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025

Mr. Das nodded, readjusting the camera strap where it had begun to chafe the back of his neck.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Saudi Arabia still chafes at the limits to its influence with the White House.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Floyd instantly chafes at the hierarchies imposed in Jay’s household, and when the island is cut off from ferries and grocery stores are closed, the mansion becomes dependent on its cook to provide.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024

Pimples or a rash in the area of the breasts or on the upper back, caused by a bra that chafes, is not clean or is made of material that is allergenic or not breathable.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2024

Kirsten chafes, but only very little, at becoming a full-time mother instead of a working one.

From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

The cold collar chafes my neck and makes the shivering even harder to control.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Musk has previously chafed at federally mandated environmental reviews related to the company’s Starship rockets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The U.A.E., one of the world’s largest oil producers, had long chafed at Saudi-backed production constraints.

From MarketWatch ● May 3, 2026

Mr. Edwards chafed a bit at being thought of primarily as a black artist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

Also on CNN, top Democrats chafed at the idea of deploying ICE agents to do a job they aren’t trained to do.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026

While Eilonwy chafed Gurgi’s wrists, the bard hurried to the tent flap and cautiously peered out.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander

With each stride, I squirmed deeper into the Florsheims’ tapered toes in a vain effort to spare my chafing heels.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

While Mr. Scharf is chafing to get off the planet, Mr. Willis is happy to let robots do the grunt work of searching for ETs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

Analysts predict that consumers, already chafing at rising subscription fees for streaming services, will be spending even more if the deal goes through.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

When the authoritarian leader starts to display physical impairment, the people who have been chafing under his iron fist stop fearing him.

From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2025

Attendants rush forward, bringing her medicinal chafing dish closer.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• annoy
• fret
• fume
• incense
• irk
• irritate
• offend
• rub