Definition of RAVEL

: to become unwoven, untwisted, or unwound : fray

obsolete : to become entangled or confused

: something raveled out

specifically : a loose thread

Verb

since the sweater is too small, you could ravel the yarn out and make something else with it

Recent Examples on the Web

So somehow, Grace, Sacha and Robert end up accompanying Art and Charlotte to Norfolk, and all of their stories unravel and ravel at once. —Ellen Akins, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2020 Her eight novels, including the 2016 bestseller Commonwealth, tend to focus on families or groups raveling and unraveling over decades. —Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Sep. 2019 Now, with many New Yorkers complaining that life in New York is raveling under Mr. Bloomberg’s progressive successor, Bill de Blasio, a top Bloomberg lieutenant is telling his version of how the city was revitalized. —Edward Kosner, WSJ, 11 Sep. 2017

The musician wore that ravel bag with a chiffon Dolce & Gabbana dress, Tabi ballet flats and a blunt-banged wig. —Daniel Rodgers, Glamour, 10 July 2024 Their faces are a footnote in a scene primed to explore the ravel of limbs, the sensuous indentations of spine, shoulder blades, and muscle. —Vulture, 17 Oct. 2023

Etymology

Verb

Dutch rafelen, from rafel loose thread

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1634, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ravel was circa 1540