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
1 American
[ret]
/ rɛt /
verb (used with object)
retted,
retting
ret.
2
American
abbreviation
-
retain.
-
retired.
-
return.
-
returned.
ret
British
/ rɛt /
verb
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The energy provider used to be able to source equipment from within Ukraine, but now it has to scour the ret of Europe for replacement parts.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025
The priests removed the image and Anei Kur was ret.
From Time Magazine Archive
As indicated above, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets was ret for October 25th.
From From October to Brest-Litovsk by Leon Davidovich Trotzky
Nearer the end I picked out the following: "I promised his maj ... e will find me here when he ret ... alone."
From The Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Well, but oor letter, well, ret me see.—No;
From The Journal to Stella by Jonathan Swift
In the Messaoria, about Ano and Kato Zodia, where flax is commonly grown, the plant is retted in the river Ovgos, which retains sufficient water usually until August.
From Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products by William Bevan
Thus the weight of the fibre was equal to about 9% of the dried flax with the bolls, 12% of the boiled straw, and over 16% of the retted straw.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various
The stalks are then bundled and retted by steeping in pools of stagnant water.
From Textiles For Commercial, Industrial, and Domestic Arts Schools; Also Adapted to Those Engaged in Wholesale and Retail Dry Goods, Wool, Cotton, and Dressmaker's Trades by William H. (William Henry) Dooley
They are then pulled, and after the seed has been removed are retted in the ordinary way.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various
The first was a wooden press used to crush the stalks of retted hemp straw, so that the harl came away and left the fibre clean.
From The Spinners by Eden Phillpotts
The bacillus which produces the "retting" is known now, however, and it has been shown that the "retting" is a process of decomposition of the pectin cement.
From The Story of Germ Life by H. W. (Herbert William) Conn
By this arrangement the flax is almost continually immersed in fresh water, a condition which hastens the retting.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various
In Belgium, Holland, and France, retting is carried out in running water, and the resulting flax is a lighter colour.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
The fiber is separated from the plant by retting, beating, etc.
From Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson
The waste silk is ungummed; that is, the gum is removed from the fibers by boiling with soap, by macerating or retting, or by chemical reagents.
From Textiles For Commercial, Industrial, and Domestic Arts Schools; Also Adapted to Those Engaged in Wholesale and Retail Dry Goods, Wool, Cotton, and Dressmaker's Trades by William H. (William Henry) Dooley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
