While fretting today usually involves a concern that is figuratively eating at someone, fret has older senses that apply to literal eating. Fret comes from the Old English verb fretan, “to devour,” …

FRET definition: to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like. See examples of fret used in a sentence.

fret noun [C] (RAISED BAR) a thin, slightly raised metal bar, several of which are positioned across the neck (= long, narrow part) of some musical instruments, such as a guitar

If you fret about something, you worry about it. I was working all hours and constantly fretting about everyone else's problems. [V + about/over] But congressional staffers fret that the …

1. to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like. 2. to cause corrosion; gnaw into something: acids that fret at the strongest metals.

A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument.

Definition of fret verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Dec 25, 2025 · fret (third-person singular simple present frets, present participle fretting, simple past and past participle fretted) To bind, to tie, originally with a loop or ring.

It turned out that it was nothing to fret about/over. Don't get in (such) a fret! We won't miss the plane.

fret meaning, definition, what is fret: to worry about something, especially whe...: Learn more.