chafed; chafing
2
: to warm by rubbing especially with the hands
3
a
: to rub so as to wear away : abrade
the strap chafed his skin
The boat chafed its sides against the dock.
b
: to make sore by or as if by rubbing
The tight collar chafed his neck.
1
: to feel irritation, discontent, or impatience : fret
chafes at the rules
2
: to rub and thereby cause wear or irritation
The baby's skin chafes if the strap is too tight.
Examples of chafe in a Sentence
Verb
When the strap is too tight, it chafes the baby's skin.
If my boots aren't laced up tight they chafe.
The baby's skin will chafe if the strap is too tight.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 19 June 2025
There was bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for McMaster, though some Democrats on the committee chafed at the Trump administration recently freezing funds, with pledges to eliminate the programs altogether.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 12 June 2025
Annie Blackman, Allure, 24 Mar. 2025
Thoughtfully designed to include zip pockets to keep your personal items safe and flat seams to reduce chafe, the shorts are well-made.
—Caitlyn Martyn
May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for chafe
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show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Trump has repeatedly pressed Powell publicly and privately to lower interest rates while chafing at the chairman’s linkage of the president’s gyrating trade levies to inflation and U.S. economic uncertainty.
—Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 19 June 2025
There was bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for McMaster, though some Democrats on the committee chafed at the Trump administration recently freezing funds, with pledges to eliminate the programs altogether.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 12 June 2025
Noun
So uncap this stick, glide it, and bid adieu to that dreaded chafe.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 24 Mar. 2025
Thoughtfully designed to include zip pockets to keep your personal items safe and flat seams to reduce chafe, the shorts are well-made.
—Caitlyn Martyn
May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for chafe
Cite this Entry
“Chafe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chafe. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
chafe
1 of 2 transitive verb
chafed; chafing
: to irritate or make sore by or as if by rubbing
chafe
2 of 2 noun
: injury caused by friction
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