fret

Plural: frets

Noun

agitation resulting from active worry
a spot that has been worn away by abrasion or erosion
an ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief)
- "there was a simple fret at the top of the walls"
a small bar of metal across the fingerboard of a musical instrument; when the string is stopped by a finger at the metal bar it will produce a note of the desired pitch
Agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or some other cause; a rippling on the surface of water.
Agitation of the mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation.
Herpes; tetter (“any of various pustular skin conditions”).
The worn sides of riverbanks, where ores or stones containing them accumulate after being washed down from higher ground, which thus indicate to miners the locality of veins of ore.
An ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines, often in relief.
A saltire interlaced with a mascle.
One of the pieces of metal, plastic or wood across the neck of a guitar or other string instrument that marks where a finger should be positioned to depress a string as it is played.
A ferrule, a ring.
A channel, a strait; a fretum.
A channel or passage created by the sea.
A fog or mist at sea, or coming inland from the sea.

Verb

Verb Forms: fretted, fretting, frets

To worry, be anxious, or become agitated.
worry unnecessarily or excessively
be agitated or irritated
- "don't fret over these small details"
provide (a musical instrument) with frets
- "fret a guitar"
become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
cause annoyance in
gnaw into; make resentful or angry
carve a pattern into
decorate with an interlaced design
be too tight; rub or press
cause friction
remove soil or rock
wear away or erode
Especially when describing animals: to consume, devour, or eat.
To chafe or irritate; to worry.
To make rough, to agitate or disturb; to cause to ripple.
In the form fret out: to squander, to waste.
To gnaw; to consume, to eat away.
To be chafed or irritated; to be angry or vexed; to utter peevish expressions through irritation or worry.
To be worn away; to chafe; to fray.
To be anxious, to worry.
To be agitated; to rankle; to be in violent commotion.
To have secondary fermentation (fermentation occurring after the conversion of sugar to alcohol in beers and wine) take place.
To decorate or ornament, especially with an interlaced or interwoven pattern, or (architecture) with carving or relief (raised) work.
To form a pattern on; to variegate.
To cut through with a fretsaw, to create fretwork.
To bind, to tie, originally with a loop or ring.
Musical senses.
To fit frets on to (a musical instrument).
Musical senses.
To press down the string behind a fret.

Examples

A wristband frets on the edges.
He began to fret over his limited tile options as the game of Words With Friends drew to a close.
He keeps his mind in a continual fret.
Rancour frets in the malignant breast.
to fret a guitar
to fret the surface of water

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English frēten (“to eat (at), corrode, destroy, annoy”), from Old English fretan (“to eat up, devour; to fret; to break, burst”), from Proto-West Germanic *fraetan, from Proto-Germanic *fraetaną (“to consume, devour, eat up”), from Proto-Germanic *fra- (“for-, prefix meaning ‘completely, fully’”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (“forward, toward”)) + *etaną (“to eat”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- (“to eat”)).
The senses meaning “to chafe, rub” could also be due to sound-association with Anglo-Norman *freiter (modern dialectal French fretter), from Vulgar Latin *frictāre, frequentative of Latin fricāre, from fricō (“to chafe, rub”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (“to cut”); compare Old French froter (modern French frotter). The chief difficulty is the lack of evidence of the Old French word.
Cognates
*Dutch vreten, fretten (“to devour, hog, wolf”)
*Low German freten (“to eat up”)
*German fressen (“to devour, gobble up, guzzle”)
*Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (fraitan, “to devour”)
*Swedish fräta (“to eat away, corrode, fret”)
*Danish fråse (“to gorge”)

Synonyms

chafe, choke, eat away, eat into, erode, fray, fuss, gag, gall, grate, Greek fret, Greek key, key pattern, lather, niggle, rankle, rub, scratch, stew, sweat, swither, worn spot

Scrabble Score: 7

fret: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
fret: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
fret: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 7

fret: valid Words With Friends Word