Definition of 'retch'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present
tense retches
, present participle retching
, past tense, past participle retched
verb
If you retch, your stomach moves as if you are vomiting.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
retch in British English
noun
3.
an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English hrǣcan; related to Old Norse hrǣkja to spit
Word Frequency
retch in American English
verb intransitive
to undergo the straining action of vomiting, esp. without bringing anything up
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
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