RETCH - 12 definitions found
retch n 1: an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting; "a bad case of the heaves" [syn: heave, retch] v 1: eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; "After drinking too much, the students vomited"; "He purged continuously"; "The patient regurgitated the food we gave him last night" [syn: vomit, vomit up, purge, cast, sick, cat, be sick, disgorge, regorge, retch, puke, barf, spew, spue, chuck, upchuck, honk, regurgitate, throw up] [ant: keep down] 2: make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit [syn: gag, heave, retch] retch chert retch 1548, originally "to clear the throat," from O.E. hr?ican "to cough up, spit" (related to hraca "phlegm"), from P.Gmc. *khr?ikijanan. Meaning "to make efforts to vomit" is from 1850. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) retch verb Etymology: Middle English *rechen to spit, retch, from Old English hrǣcan to spit, hawk; akin to Old Norse hrækja to spit Date: circa 1798 transitive verb vomit 1 intransitive verb to make an effort to vomit; also vomit • retch noun Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary retch (retches, retching, retched) If you retch, your stomach moves as if you are vomiting. The smell made me retch. = heave VERB: V English Explanatory Dictionary retch retʃ v. & n. --v.intr. make a motion of vomiting esp. involuntarily and without effect. --n. such a motion or the sound of it. [var. of (now dial.) reach f. OE hrócan spit, ON hrókja f. Gmc, of imit. orig.] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Retch \Retch\, v. t. & i. [See Reck.] To care for; to heed; to reck. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Retch \Retch\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Retched; p. pr. & vb. n. Retching.] [AS. hr?can to clear the throat, hawk, fr. hraca throat; akin to G. rachen, and perhaps to E. rack neck.] To make an effort to vomit; to strain, as in vomiting. [Written also reach.] Beloved Julia, hear me still beseeching! (Here he grew inarticulate with retching.) --Byron. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms retch v. n. Heave, strain, keck, gag, try to vomit. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 24 Moby Thesaurus words for "retch": barf, be nauseated, be seasick, be sick, bring up, choke on, chuck up, disgorge, egest, feed the fish, feel disgust, gag, heave, heave the gorge, keck, puke, regurgitate, reject, sick up, sicken at, spew, throw up, upchuck, vomit |
| |||||||||||||
