retch
- to make efforts to vomit.
- to vomit.
- the act or an instance of retching.
Origin of retch
Related Words for retched
gag, regurgitate, heave, eject, breathe, huff, groan, spew, vomit, puff, exhale, hurl, retch, upchuck, barf, expel, puke, emit, ruminate, dischargeExamples from the Web for retched
Contemporary Examples of retched
We moved him to my room; I sat with him as he retched and groaned in pain.
It was so horrible that a guard in the video, holding Danny down, retched and was thrown out of the room.
Historical Examples of retched
I dropped flat on my belly and retched a hand under the cliff.
Blue Ridge CountryJean Thomas
He retched and spat; and then his hands fumbled in the grass and got hold of a stone.
Pelle the Conqueror, CompleteMartin Anderson Nexo
They watched me for a time as I grovelled and retched in sickness.
Bakemono Yashiki (The Haunted House)James S. De Benneville
Dalgard retched before he could control throat and stomach muscles.
Star BornAndre Norton
He retched down an' got a han'ful o' goobers an' put 'em in his pocket.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former SlavesWork Projects Administration
retch
- (intr) to undergo an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting; heave
- to vomit
- an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting
Word Origin for retch
Word Origin and History for retched
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.
retch
(rĕch)- To try to vomit.