ret

/ɹɛt/

//ɹɛt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ret" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ret” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #23,085) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#23,085
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To prepare (flax, hemp etc.) for further processing by soaking, which facilitates separation of fibers from the woody parts of the stem.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ret · ret · English

ret · rank #23,085 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,085
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH respite

Nearest frequency peer: respite (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “ret”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “ret” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ret vs RS
0% similar
ret vs RT
0% similar
ret vs RM
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ret
PropertyValue
Headwordret
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɛt/
Letters3
Frequency rank#23,085
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “ret”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).retlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “respite” (#23,084), “repulsive” (#23,083), “rename” (#23,082). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “ret” is #23,085. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ret is neighbouring look-alikes ("RS", "RT", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /ɹɛt/. Frequency #23,085 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Gloss: "To prepare (flax, hemp etc.) for further processing by soaking, which facilitates separation of fibers from the woody parts of the stem.".

Zero misspellings are on record for ret in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "RS", "RT", "RM", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English retten, reten; perhaps from Middle Dutch rēten, reeten (compare Middle Low German rōten; Middle High German rōzen), or from Old Norse reyta (compare Norwegian røyta, Swedish röta); all from Proto-Germanic *rautijaną (“to make mellow or s… The correct English form is ret, spelled R-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To prepare (flax, hemp etc.) for further processing by soaking, which facilitates separation of fibers from the woody parts of the stem.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ret appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. the hemp was retted / and soon the retting was done / and swiftly it was hung up / and hurriedly it was dried […].
  2. the lowland nearly silent except for water-thrushes, the harvested fields, the smell of hops being dried in kilns, flax pulled up and piled in sheaves, in local practice not to be retted till the spring

Etymology

From Middle English retten, reten; perhaps from Middle Dutch rēten, reeten (compare Middle Low German rōten; Middle High German rōzen), or from Old Norse reyta (compare Norwegian røyta, Swedish röta); all from Proto-Germanic *rautijaną (“to make mellow or soft”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewd- (“to tear; rend; rip”). Related to rot.

This word in other languages

rouir(Français)rotten(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ret"?
"ret" is spelled R-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɛt/.
What does "ret" mean?
As a verb, "ret" means: To prepare (flax, hemp etc.) for further processing by soaking, which facilitates separation of fibers from the woody parts of the stem.
What words are commonly confused with "ret"?
"ret" is commonly confused with "RS", "RT", "RM". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ret"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ret" is /ɹɛt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ret"?
From Middle English retten, reten; perhaps from Middle Dutch rēten, reeten (compare Middle Low German rōten; Middle High German rōzen), or from Old Norse reyta (compare Norwegian røyta, Swedish röta); all from Proto-Germanic *rautijaną (“to make m... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ret", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

nag#23,047AWS#23,173CFA#23,198FEI#22,967

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list