fret

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 9, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>fret</strong> &#149; \FRET\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Fret</em> means "to become worried or concerned."</p> <p>// The director <em>fretted</em> over every detail of the show's opening night performance.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fret">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Notre Dame had four players who needed surgery this week. … It's a troubling start that every coach <em>frets</em> about. — Mike Hutton, <em>Sports Illustrated</em>, 9 Sept. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The meat-and-potatoes meaning of <em>fret</em> is "to eat." The verb is used literally, as in "<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clothes%20moth">Moths</a> <em>fretted</em> the clothing," but more often figuratively to describe actions that corrode or wear away. A river "frets away" at its banks, or something might be said to be "fretted out" with time or age. <em>Fret</em> also applies to emotional experiences so that something that "eats away at someone" is "fretting the heart or mind."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>