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
Ah gits hin' his cheer ret easy, an' quick sneak his cheer f'om un'er him; an' when he finish he set smack on de flow!
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States, From Interviews with Former Slaves Virginia Narratives by Work Projects Administration
Nod de virst ret cendt for Breitmann! ish dis do pe de gry On de man dat sacked de repels und trinked dem high und dry?
From The Breitmann Ballads by Charles Godfrey Leland
He first hoped to ret his flax in the Bride river, as he had seen it retted on the Lys, but was dissuaded from making this trial and, instead, built a hot water rettery.
From The Spinners by Eden Phillpotts
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
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
Both lots when retted and scutched were examined by an inspector of the department and by several flax spinners.
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
One part was retted at Millisle by the patent-system of Loppens and Deswarte; the other was sent to Courtrai and steeped in the Lys.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various
To a large extent retting continues to be conducted in the primitive fashions above described, although numerous and persistent attempts have been made to improve upon it, or to avoid the process altogether.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various
The fiber is separated from the plant by retting, beating, etc.
From Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson
Flax′-comb, a toothed instrument or heckle for cleaning the fibres of flax; Flax′-dress′er, one who prepares flax for the spinner by the successive processes of rippling, retting, grassing, breaking, and scutching.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
The stalks are sometimes set up in shocks to cure before retting, and after retting they are set up in shocks to dry.
From Hemp Hurds as Paper-Making Material United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 404 by Lyster H. (Lyster Hoxie) Dewey
Process retting by means of weak solutions of chemicals or oils in hot water is practiced to a limited extent.
From Hemp Hurds as Paper-Making Material United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 404 by Lyster H. (Lyster Hoxie) Dewey
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.
