Definition

1. Verb:

   • To make the sound and movement of vomiting, often without actually bringing anything up from the stomach; to strain as if to vomit.
   • To vomit; to eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth.

2. Noun:

   • An involuntary spasm of the stomach and throat, especially one that is ineffectual and does not lead to vomiting.

Usage

• As a Verb: The action is often involuntary and associated with nausea. It can describe both the attempt to vomit and the act of vomiting itself.
• As a Noun: Refers to the specific spasm or heaving motion itself.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The smell from the dumpster made him retch violently.
  • She was retching over the toilet bowl, sick with food poisoning.
• Noun:
  • A sudden retch overcame him, but nothing came up.
  • The medicine caused a series of dry retches.

Advanced Usage

• "to retch at something": to have a retching reaction because of something (often a smell or sight).
  • He retched at the sight of the decaying animal.

Variants and Related Words

• Heave (verb/noun): Often used synonymously with 'retch', especially to describe a strong, convulsive effort to vomit.
  • A dry heave.
• Gag (verb): To make a convulsive effort to vomit, often triggered by something in the throat or a repulsive smell/taste.
  • The bad taste made her gag.

Synonyms

• Gag: To choke or strain in an attempt to vomit.
• Heave: To make an effort to vomit, often with a lifting motion of the chest.
• Vomit / Throw up: To eject stomach contents (these terms usually imply success, whereas 'retch' can be unsuccessful).

Phrasal Verbs

(This word is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions.)

Related Idioms

(There are no common idioms specifically using the word 'retch'.)

Noun

1. an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting
   • a bad case of the heaves

Verb

1. make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit
2. 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