retch
[ rech ]
/ rɛtʃ /
verb (used without object)
to make efforts to vomit.
verb (used with object)
to vomit.
noun
the act or an instance of retching.
Nearby words
retarded, retarded dentition, retardee, retarder, retarget, retch, retcon, retd, retd., rete, rete arteriosum
Origin of retch
1540–50; variant of reach, Old English hrǣcan to clear the throat (not recorded in ME), derivative of hrāca a clearing of the throat; compare Old Norse hrǣkja to hawk, spit
Can be confusedretch wretch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for retch
British Dictionary definitions for retch
retch
/ (rɛtʃ, riːtʃ) /
verb
(intr) to undergo an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting; heave
to vomit
noun
an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting
Word Origin for retch
Old English hrǣcan; related to Old Norse hrǣkja to spit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for retch
retch
1540s, originally "to clear the throat, to cough up phlegm," from Old English hræcan "to cough up, spit" (related to hraca "phlegm"), from Proto-Germanic *khrækijanan (cf. Old High German rahhison "to clear one's throat"), of imitative origin (cf. Lithuanian kregeti "to grunt"). Meaning "to make efforts to vomit" is from 1850; sense of "to vomit" is first attested 1888. Related: Retched; retching.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for retch
retch
[ rĕch ]
v.
To try to vomit.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.