fray

«fray» in Mova's school dictionary: If cloth or rope frays, its threads come loose at the… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (fray, frays, frayed, fraying); noun (the fray)

meaning for a pupil

1) If cloth or rope frays, its threads come loose at the edge and it starts to wear out. tree →

2) If someone's nerves or temper fray, they become tense and start to get annoyed. tree →

3) The fray is a fight, argument or competition: «join the fray», «enter the fray». tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life, jeans, shoelaces and ropes fray with use; in safety, a frayed rope or electric cable is dangerous and should be replaced. In stories and news, people «jump into the fray» of an argument or battle. Phrases: «frayed edges», «tempers frayed», «join the fray», «above the fray».

examples

• The edges of my jeans have started to fray. tree →
• Never use a frayed electric cable. tree →
• Tempers frayed as the long car journey went on. tree →
• Another team entered the fray in the second half. tree →
• The knight rode into the fray. tree →
• Her nerves were frayed before the exam. tree →
• Then the ten thousand mighty lions joined the fray and tore in pieces man and horse. tree →

note

Regular verb: frayed. «Frayed» describes worn cloth or tired, edgy nerves. «Stay above the fray» means do not get involved in an argument.

In the corpora

• A frayed or damaged cord should be unplugged by an adult and not used again until it is fixed.
• Never touch or use a frayed cable with wires showing; tell a grown-up.
• A cracked or frayed cable can give an electric shock.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «fray» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.