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
As indicated above, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets was ret for October 25th.
From From October to Brest-Litovsk by Trotzky, Leon Davidovich
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
Ah gits hin' his cheer ret easy, an' quick sneak his cheer f'om un'er him; an' when he finish he set smack on de flow!
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States, From Interviews with Former Slaves Virginia Narratives by Work Projects Administration
In the Messaoria, about Ano and Kato Zodia, where flax is commonly grown, the plant is retted in the river Ovgos, which retains sufficient water usually until August.
From Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products by Bevan, William
Breaking removes the woody center from the retted and dried flax by being passed through a series of fluted rollers.
From Textiles and Clothing by Watson, Kate Heintz
The stalks are then bundled and retted by steeping in pools of stagnant water.
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 Dooley, William H. (William Henry)
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 waste silk is ungummed; that is, the gum is removed from the fibers by boiling with soap, by macerating or retting, or by chemical reagents.
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 Dooley, William H. (William Henry)
Blacksmiths, locksmiths, tool-makers sometimes express this state by saying the iron is retting, appropriating a word applied exclusively to hemp, which is reduced to pulp and fibre by maceration.
From Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Balzac, Honoré de
A process of retting by steam was introduced by W. Watt of Glasgow in 1852, and subsequently modified and improved by J. Buchanan.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various
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 Wyss, Johann David
The bacillus which produces the "retting" is known now, however, and it has been shown that the "retting" is a process of decomposition of the pectin cement.
From The Story of Germ Life by Conn, H. W. (Herbert William)
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.
