retain.
retired.
return.
returned.
1400–50; late Middle English reten, retten; cognate with Dutch reten (compare Dutch roten, German rössen, Swedish röta ); akin to rot
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
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 Leland, Charles Godfrey
Ret, ret, v.t. to expose hemp, jute, &c. to moisture.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
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
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
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
This must be retted, carded, spun and woven, and then with scissors, needle and thread I will make you any article of clothing you choose.'
From Swiss Family Robinson by Wyss, Johann David
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 Phillpotts, Eden
The process is known as "retting," and after it is completed the fibres are easily isolated from each other.
From The Story of Germ Life by Conn, H. W. (Herbert William)
This requires much care and experience, as the quality depends largely upon effective retting.
From Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products by Bevan, William
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 process is called "retting," as in the linen manufacture.
From The Story of Germ Life by Conn, H. W. (Herbert William)
From the earliest times two leading processes of retting have been practised, termed respectively water-retting and dew-retting; and as no method has yet been introduced which satisfactorily supersedes these operations, they will first be described.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various
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.
