fray
1 Americannoun
-
a fight, battle, or skirmish.
-
a competition or contest, especially in sports.
- Synonyms:
- tourney, meet, match, tournament
-
a noisy quarrel or brawl.
-
Archaic. fright.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to wear (cloth, rope, etc.) to loose, raveled threads or fibers at the edge or end; cause to ravel out.
Our old washing machine frayed all of our towels.
-
to wear by rubbing (sometimes followed bythrough ).
-
to cause strain on (something); upset; discompose.
All that arguing is fraying my nerves.
-
to rub.
verb (used without object)
-
to wear into loose, raveled threads or fibers, as cloth; ravel out.
My sweater frayed at the elbows.
-
to become strained or stressed.
Jealousy could be a sign that your relationship is fraying.
-
to rub against something.
tall grass fraying against my knees.
noun
noun
-
a noisy quarrel
-
a fight or brawl
-
an archaic word for fright
verb
verb
-
to wear or cause to wear away into tatters or loose threads, esp at an edge or end
-
to make or become strained or irritated
-
to rub or chafe (another object) or (of two objects) to rub against one another
noun
Other Word Forms
- frayed adjective
Etymology
Origin of fray1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English frai; shortening of affray
Origin of fray2
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English fraien, from Old French frayer, freiier “to rub,” from Latin fricāre; friction
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.
It’s a despicable choice — one that will come back into the fray later in the series’ tenure — but one that succinctly reflects the show’s dynamics.
From Salon
Our nerves are frayed, leaving little patience for nuance.
From Salon
They also could operate for weeks, if not months, in Iran’s mountainous coastline, even if “communication with Tehran frays.”
From MarketWatch
When the people who make a city run cannot afford to live there, the city itself begins to fray.
Back in the Red Sea at the end of April, the Navy was growing increasingly frayed by the need to constantly fight off the Houthi drones and missiles.
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.
