fret
fret1 / fret/ •
v. (fret·ted, fret·ting) 1. [intr.] be constantly or visibly worried or anxious: she fretted about the cost of groceries | I fretted that my fingers were so skinny. ∎ [tr.] cause (someone) worry or distress.2. [tr.] gradually wear away (something) by rubbing or gnawing: the bay's black waves fret the seafront. ∎ form (a channel or passage) by rubbing or wearing away. ∎ [intr.] flow or move in small waves: soft clay that fretted between his toes.fret2 •
n. 1. Art & Archit. a repeating ornamental design of interlaced vertical and horizontal lines, such as the Greek key pattern.2. Heraldry a device of narrow diagonal bands interlaced through a diamond.•
v. (fret·ted, fret·ting) [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (fretted) decorate with fretwork: intricately carved and fretted balustrades.fret3 •
n. each of a sequence of bars or ridges on the fingerboard of some stringed musical instruments (such as the guitar), used for fixing the positions of the fingers to produce the desired notes.•
v. (fret·ted, fret·ting) [tr.] [often as adj.] (fretted) 1. provide (a stringed instrument) with frets.2. play (a note) while pressing the string down against a fret: fretted notes.DERIVATIVES: fret·less adj.
frets