What does "fray" mean?
Fray: To rub. We can show the marks he made When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed. Sir W. Scott.
Additional senses
- 2.To wear out or into shreads, or to suffer injury by rubbing, as when the threads of the warp or of the woof wear off so that the cross threads are loose; to ravel; as, the cloth frays badly. A suit of frayed magnificience. tennyson.
- 3.A fret or chafe, as in cloth; a place injured by rubbing.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00