fray
/fɹeɪ/verb
fray is spelled F-R-A-Y: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, fray means “To rub or wear away (something); to cause (something made of strands twisted or woven together, such as cloth or rope) to unravel through friction…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fray?
| Letters | 4: F-R-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,101st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is fray?
Fray appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fray?
- US /fɹeɪ/
Fray has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fray.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with fray?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as fray from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of fray
- frays present, singular, he/she/it
- fraying participle, present
- frayed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fray mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To rub or wear away (something); to cause (something made of strands twisted or woven together, such as cloth or rope) to unravel through friction; also, to irritate (something) through chafing or rubbing; to chafe.
- 2
Of a deer: to rub (its antlers or head) against a tree, etc., to remove the velvet from antlers or to mark territory; also, to rub its antlers against (a tree, etc.) for that purpose.
- 3
To force or make (a path, way, etc.) through.
- 4
obsoleteTo bruise (someone or something); also, to take the virginity of (someone, usually a female person); to deflower.
- 5
To become unravelled or worn; to unravel.
- 6
To rub.
- 7
Of a deer: to rub its antlers against a tree, etc., to remove the velvet or to mark territory.
- 8
Of a person's mental strength, nerves, temper, etc.: to become exhausted or worn out.
The hectic day ended in her nerves frayed.
- 9
archaicobsoleteTo alarm or frighten (someone or something).
- 10
archaicobsoleteOften followed by away, off, or out: to frighten or scare (someone or something) away.
- 11
archaicobsoleteTo assail or attack (someone or something); to drive (someone or something) away by attacking.
- 12
archaicobsoleteTo chase (someone or something) away; to disperse.
- 13
archaicobsoleteTo be afraid or frightened; to fear.
- 14
archaicobsoleteTo make an assault or attack; also, to create a disturbance; to brawl, to fight.
- 15
archaicobsoleterareTo bear the expense of (something); to defray.
noun
- 1
archaicobsoleteA consequence of rubbing, unravelling, or wearing away; a fraying; also, a place where fraying has occurred.
The laces frayed at the cut end.
- 2
archaicobsoleteA noisy commotion, especially resulting from fighting; a brawl, a fight; also, a loud quarrel.
Though they did not know the reason for the dispute, they did not hesitate to leap into the fray.
- 3
archaicobsoleteA heated argument; a war of words.
- 4
archaicobsoleteConflict, disagreement.
- 5
archaicobsoleteAn assault or attack.
- 6
archaicobsoleteA loud noise; a cacophony, a din.
- 7
archaicobsoleteFright, terror; (countable) an instance of this.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fray in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | effilocher , user , bagarre, combat |
| German | ausfransen , aufreiben, zermürben , Schlacht, Schlägerei, Auseinandersetzung |
| Portuguese | desfiar , refrega, briga |
| Spanish | deshilachar, desflecar, deshilar, desflocar, destejer , deshilacharse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fray come from?
The verb is derived from Late Middle English fraien (“to beat so as to cause bruising, to bruise; to crush; to rub; to wear, wear off”), borrowed from Old French fraier, freier, freiier (modern French frayer (“to clear, open up (a path, etc.); (figuratively) to find one’s way through (something); (obsolete) to rub”)), from Latin fricāre, the present active infinitive of fricō (“to chafe; to rub”), an intensive form of friō (“to break into pieces, crumble; to rub”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (“to cut”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).