frit
/fɹɪt/noun, verb, adjective
frit is a noun meaning “A pre-fused ceramic mixture used to make glass and glazes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled F-R-I-T, and it appears about once in every 11 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of frit is frits.
What does frit mean?
noun
- 1
A pre-fused ceramic mixture used to make glass and glazes.
- 2
Such material used in the manufacture of ceramic beads and small ornaments. (eastern Mediterranean; Bronze and Iron Age)
- 3
Such material that is resistant to melting and used to physically support objects in a crucible.
- 4
A material, whether ceramic, plastic or some other material, that is used for support in chemical apparatus.
- 5
Any of many black enamel dots baked in a graded pattern onto the glass around the edge of a windshield.
- 6
UKderogatoryA politician who does not perform some action (for example answering a question or calling a vote) out of fear of losing.
- 7
A frit fly.
verb
- 1
To add frit to a glass or ceramic mixture
- 2
To prepare by heat (the materials for making glass); to fuse partially.
adjective
- 1
UKFrightened.
The right hon. Gentleman is afraid of an election, is he? Afraid? Frightened? Frit? Could not take it? Cannot stand it? If I were going to cut and run, I should have gone after the Falklands.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce frit?
- /fɹɪt/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-frit.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of frit
- frits plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- fritting participle, present
- fritted participle, past
- more frit comparative
- most frit superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is frit?
Frit appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 100,430th 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).
Frit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fused mixture of materials:
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 frit come from?
Either from French fritte, from frit (“fried”), or else from Italian fritta f (“fried”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).