Definition of 'retch'
Word forms: retches, retching, retched
intransitive verb
If you retch, your stomach moves as if you are vomiting.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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.
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
Examples of 'retch' in a sentence
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