Jump To:

• ret
  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.
  ret.

  abbreviation

  retain.

ret

¹ American  

[ret] / rɛt /

verb (used with object)

retted, retting

1. 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. ² American  

abbreviation

1. retain.

2. retired.

3. return.

4. returned.

---

ret British  

/ rɛt /

verb

1. (tr) to moisten or soak (flax, hemp, jute, etc) to promote bacterial action in order to facilitate separation of the fibres from the woody tissue by beating

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unretted
  adjective

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

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

Henceforth his people know him as Kuna Jo-Uk�God's last-born, the immortal ret of the Shilluks.

From Time Magazine Archive

The priests removed the image and Anei Kur was ret.

From Time Magazine Archive

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 Phillpotts, Eden

Uster go down dere, an' dem Yankees be sittin' all 'long de road wid dey blue coats; ret pretty site; 'twas.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States, From Interviews with Former Slaves Virginia Narratives by Work Projects Administration