chafed - Definitions from Dictionary.com

3 results for: chafed

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

chafe

Audio Help [cheyf] Pronunciation Key verb, chafed, chaf·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	to wear or abrade by rubbing: He chafed his shoes on the rocks.

2.	to make sore by rubbing: Her collar chafed her neck.

3.	to irritate; annoy: The dripping of the faucet chafed her nerves.

4.	to warm by rubbing: to chafe cold hands.

5.	Obsolete. to heat; make warm.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to become worn or sore from rubbing: His neck began to chafe from the starched collar.

7.	to rub; press with friction: The horse chafed against his stall.

8.	to be irritated or annoyed: He chafed at their constant interruptions.

–noun

9.	irritation; annoyance.

10.	heat, wear, or soreness caused by rubbing.

—Idiom

11.	chafe at the bit, to become impatient at delay: The work was going very slowly, and he began to chafe at the bit.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME chaufen to heat, rub, chafe < MF chaufer < VL *calfāre, var. of L cal(e)facere, equiv. to cale- (s. of calére to be hot) + facere to make

]

—Synonyms 3. exasperate, vex, trouble, provoke.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
chafed

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

chafe Audio Help   (chāf) Pronunciation Key
v.   chafed, chaf·ing, chafes

v.   tr.

To wear away or irritate by rubbing.
To annoy; vex.
To warm by rubbing, as with the hands.

v. intr.

To rub and cause irritation or friction: The high collar chafed against my neck.
To become worn or sore from rubbing.
To feel irritated or impatient: chafed at the delay.

Warmth, wear, or soreness produced by friction.
Annoyance; vexation.

[Middle English chafen, from Old French chaufer, to warm, from Vulgar Latin *calefāre, alteration of Latin calefacere : calēre, to be warm; see kelə-¹ in Indo-European roots + facere, to make; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: These verbs mean to wear down or rub away a surface by or as if by scraping: chafed my skin; water abrading the canyon walls; metal bristles that excoriated her scalp; rope that fretted a groove in the post; stone steps galled by years of heavy use.

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