fray

verb

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

The verdict

“fray” is uncommon French (frequency #59,302 among 137,178 “F” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,302
frequency rank, French
137,178
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - S’effilocher, s’user par frottement.

Key facts for fray
PropertyValue
Headwordfray
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
Letters4
Frequency rank#59,302
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fray” sits in French frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fray is uncommon French at frequency #59,302 among 137,178 “F” headwords, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for fray, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is fray, spelled F-R-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    S’effilocher, s’user par frottement.
  2. 2
    Épuiser.
  3. 3
    Défrayer ; décharger des frais de nourriture, d’entretien, de voyage, etc.

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fray"?
"fray" is spelled F-R-A-Y.
What does "fray" mean?
As a verb, "fray" means: S’effilocher, s’user par frottement.
What language does "fray" come from?
"fray" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “fray”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is F-R-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list