fret

¹ American  

[fret] / frɛt /

verb (used without object)

fretted, fretting

1. to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like.

   Fretting about the lost ring isn't going to help.

   Synonyms:

   rage, fume

2. to cause corrosion; gnaw into something.

   acids that fret at the strongest metals.

3. to make a way by gnawing, corrosion, wearing away, etc..

   The river frets at its banks until a new channel is formed.

4. to become eaten, worn, or corroded (often followed byaway ).

   Limestone slowly frets away under pounding by the wind and rain.

5. to move in agitation or commotion, as water.

   water fretting over the stones of a brook.

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verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting

1. to torment; irritate, annoy, or vex.

   You mustn't fret yourself about that.

   Synonyms:

   tease, goad, harass, worry

2. to wear away or consume by gnawing, friction, rust, corrosives, etc..

   the ocean fretting its shores.

   Synonyms:

   rub, grind, abrade, corrode, gnaw, erode

3. to form or make by wearing away a substance.

   The river had fretted an underground passage.

4. to agitate (water).

   Strong winds were fretting the channel.

noun

1. an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

   Synonyms:

   worry, agitation, harassment

2. Now Rare.

   1. a wearing away; erosion; corrosion.

   2. a worn or eroded place.

fret ² American  

[fret] / frɛt /

noun

1. an interlaced, angular design; fretwork.

2. an angular design of bands within a border.

3. Heraldry. a charge composed of two diagonal strips interlacing with and crossing at the center of a mascle.

4. a piece of decoratively pierced work placed in a clock case to deaden the sound of the mechanism.

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verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting

1. to ornament with a fret or fretwork.

fret ³ American  

[fret] / frɛt /

noun

1. any of the ridges of wood, metal, or string, set across the fingerboard of a guitar, lute, or similar instrument, which help the fingers to stop the strings at the correct points.

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verb (used with object)

fretted, fretting

1. to provide with frets.

fret ¹ British  

/ frɛt /

verb

1. to distress or be distressed; worry

2. to rub or wear away

3. to irritate or be irritated; feel or give annoyance or vexation

4. to eat away or be eaten away by chemical action; corrode

5. (intr) (of a road surface) to become loose so that potholes develop; scab

6. to agitate (water) or (of water) to be agitated

7. (tr) to make by wearing away; erode

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noun

1. a state of irritation or anxiety

2. the result of fretting; corrosion

3. a hole or channel caused by fretting

fret ² British  

/ frɛt /

noun

1. a repetitive geometrical figure, esp one used as an ornamental border

2. such a pattern made in relief and with numerous small openings; fretwork

3. heraldry a charge on a shield consisting of a mascle crossed by a saltire

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verb

1. (tr) to ornament with fret or fretwork

fret ³ British  

/ frɛt /

noun

1. any of several small metal bars set across the fingerboard of a musical instrument of the lute, guitar, or viol family at various points along its length so as to produce the desired notes when the strings are stopped by the fingers

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fret ⁴ British  

/ frɛt /

noun

1. short for sea fret

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Other Word Forms

• fretter
  noun
• fretless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of fret¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English freten, freoten, vreten “to eat up, consume greedily, devour,” Old English fretan “to eat up, consume, devour”; cognate with Old Saxon fretan, Gothic fra-itan, Old High German frezzan ( German fressen “to feed, devour”), from Germanic fra-etan, equivalent to fra- for- ( def. ) + etan eat ( def. )

Origin of fret²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fret, frette, probably from Old French frete “trelliswork,” possibly from a Germanic source; compare Old English frættewian, frætwian, fretwian “to adorn, embroider, trim”

Origin of fret³

First recorded in 1490–1500; origin uncertain

Explanation

When you fret, you worry so much about something that it eats away at you. Many people fret about taking standardized tests, but really, they're nothing to sweat. Fret comes from the Old English word freton which means to devour like an animal. When you fret over something, it consumes your thoughts. If you tell your mother to not fret about you while you're at a sleepover camp, you're telling her to not worry about you too much. Sometimes it means to be agitated though. When you're waiting for the results of an exam, you might fret and wring your hands. In a totally unrelated meaning, a guitar player calls the raised lines on the neck of the guitar that help him play correctly frets.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fret fretted fretting

Hollywood has leaned into established IP this season, but if you’re seeking an original story, don’t fret, several of those are coming too.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

They’re straining the grid and making people fret about their utility bills.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

And after the past month's wild volatility, some analysts are more upbeat about the outlook, even as some continue to fret.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

But fret not, because lettuce can still be enjoyed to its fullest when cooked.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

I wouldn’t go to the family supper before the viewing—in fret, I’d skip the viewing, too.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

A widely watched measure of consumer confidence slipped in August as consumers fretted about future economic conditions, the Conference Board said this past week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Two decades ago, U.S. policymakers fretted that London would eclipse Wall Street as the world’s primary listing destination.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

"Damon's Odysseus is stubborn, overconfident and sacrilegious, but doesn't bear that much resemblance to the conniving, hypocritical egotist of lore who fretted over his wife's fidelity," she noted.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

The delicate tapestry will be transported from its usual home in northern France, but the precise arrangements are being kept secret as heritage experts and artists have fretted that it could be damaged in transit.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Insurgent capitalism frightened the government of North Korea, which fretted publicly about a slippery slope to regime change and catastrophe.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

The lab wanted to make that clear to a public that, though plenty worried about the potential of artificial intelligence, wasn’t fretting enough about what these complex models were capable of now.

From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026

At 88, Scott remains the cinema’s uneasy philosopher, continually fretting about the technological and societal tools we’ve developed to destroy ourselves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

The boom results were posted despite South Korean stocks suffering a sharp sell-off on Wednesday as nervous traders unwound AI-driven bets, fretting whether lofty profit forecasts are realistic.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

"Now I'm just fretting helplessly, there is nothing I can do."

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Left alone, I lay fretting over my identity.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Related Words

• agonize
• bother
• brood
• carp
• chafe
• fume
• fuss
• grieve