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
Nearer the end I picked out the following: "I promised his maj ... e will find me here when he ret ... alone."
From The Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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
Sonig say, 'Tomorrow we be friendry and we ret those two go for another wawrk in the woods.
From —And Devious the Line of Duty by George Luther Schelling
A considerable amount of flax grown elsewhere in Europe is sent to this part of Belgium to be retted.
From Commercial Geography A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges by Jacques W. (Jacques Wardlaw) Redway
They are then "retted," or beaten, and the fibre is removed.
From Commercial Geography A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges by Jacques W. (Jacques Wardlaw) Redway
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
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
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 fiber is sometimes broken from dry hemp stalks without retting.
From Hemp Hurds as Paper-Making Material United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 404 by Lyster H. (Lyster Hoxie) Dewey
I described to my boys as we went along the process of retting, and explained to them how steeping the flax leaves destroys the useless membrane, while the strong fibres remain.
From Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
By this arrangement the flax is almost continually immersed in fresh water, a condition which hastens the retting.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various
The retting in stagnant water is more rapidly done, but there is danger of over-retting on account of the organic matter retained in the water which favors fermentation.
From Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson
To separate this valuable commercial product from the woody matter the stalks are first subjected to a process termed retting, which is steeping them in water until they are quite soft.
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
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.
