chafe
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To excite heat in by friction.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
chayfIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtʃeɪf
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm.
transitivefigurative
To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate.
transitive
To fret and wear by rubbing.
Cause friction
intransitive
To rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction.
Become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
noun
Soreness and warmth caused by friction
“He had a nasty chafe on his knee.”
Injury or wear caused by friction.
Heat excited by friction.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm.
Used this way, chafe is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use chafe
- “This leash chafes the dog's neck.”verb
- “He had a nasty chafe on his knee.”noun
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A metal pan over a heater.
Covering (usually rope or canvas) of a line or spar to protect it from friction.
A common metallic green European beetle: larvae feed on plant roots and adults on leaves and flowers of e.g. roses.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.