fray

¹

[ frey ]

noun

1. a fight, battle, or skirmish.

   Synonyms: war, strife, encounter, clash, contest, conflict, combat

2. a competition or contest, especially in sports.

   Synonyms: tourney, meet, tournament, match

3. a noisy quarrel or brawl.

   Synonyms: melee, tussle, fracas, riot, squabble, spat, set-to, tiff, dispute, fight, altercation

4. Archaic. fright.

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to frighten.

verb (used without object)

1. Archaic. to fight or brawl.

fray

²

[ frey ]

verb (used with object)

1. to wear (cloth, rope, etc.) to loose, raveled threads or fibers at the edge or end; cause to ravel out:

   Our old washing machine frayed all of our towels.

   Synonyms: tatter, ravel, wear out

2. to wear by rubbing (sometimes followed by through ).
3. to cause strain on (something); upset; discompose:

   All that arguing is fraying my nerves.

   Synonyms: chafe, stress, irritate

4. to rub.

verb (used without object)

1. to wear into loose, raveled threads or fibers, as cloth; ravel out:

   My sweater frayed at the elbows.

2. to become strained or stressed:

   Jealousy could be a sign that your relationship is fraying.

3. to rub against something:

   tall grass fraying against my knees.

noun

1. a raveled or worn part, as in cloth:

   frays at the toes of well-worn sneakers.

fray

¹

/ freɪ /

noun

1. a noisy quarrel
2. a fight or brawl
3. See fright
   an archaic word for fright

verb

1. tr to frighten

fray

²

/ freɪ /

verb

1. to wear or cause to wear away into tatters or loose threads, esp at an edge or end
2. to make or become strained or irritated
3. to rub or chafe (another object) or (of two objects) to rub against one another

noun

1. a frayed place, as in cloth

Other Words From

• frayed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fray¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English frai; shortening of affray

Origin of fray²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English fraien, from Old French frayer, freiier “to rub,” from Latin fricāre; friction

Word History and Origins

Origin of fray¹

C14: short for affray

Origin of fray²

C14: from French frayer to rub, from Latin fricāre ; see friction , friable

Idioms and Phrases

see enter the lists (fray) .

Example Sentences

As the title suggests, Above the Clouds is about Jornet’s lifelong journey to rise above the fray, not just as an elite competitor but as an individual trying to find his moral bearing in a world that pulls him in other directions.

From Outside Online

Most of all, Gandhi says, she wants to rise above the fray and inform.

From Nautilus

Of course, with Disney, NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS each operating their own ad-supported streamers, and Discovery and WarnerMedia primed to join the fray, the advertisers could simply redirect their dollars within the TV network groups.

From Digiday

Democratic ideologies like free access to news and funding journalism are being flung back and forth in the fray.

From Digiday

Kennedy spoke to Fortune about her decision to enter the political fray, Congress’s need for more lawmakers who understand technology, and her centrist worldview.

From Fortune

Abramson, biting her tongue, was widely portrayed in rival outlets as classily above the fray.

From The Daily Beast

Many more German divisions would enter the fray over the next few days.

From The Daily Beast

It is not at all hard to anticipate additional forces—Turkmens and others—joining the fray in the future.

From The Daily Beast

As is often the case when the letter and the spirit of the law begin to fray, legal creativity gets called upon to mend them.

From The Daily Beast

As soon as the government announced the sad story, for example, conspiracy theorists jumped into the fray.

From The Daily Beast

Dost turn awayThy eyes, in horror, from the doubtful fray?Ye gods, ye gods.

From Project Gutenberg

Lechmere looks anxious for the fray, and I should say from the expression on his face that he has a knife up his sleeve.

From Project Gutenberg

After the examination, Wallace observed that the girls had taken advantage of the fray to make their escape.

From Project Gutenberg

One room would challenge another, and stripping the covers off their bolsters, would meet in mortal fray.

From Project Gutenberg

Fray Antonio, aroused by the approach of danger, quickly seized his rifle, and also got behind the tree.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• erode
• frazzle
• unravel
• wear away