Did you know?
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
regret
- definition
What are red words?
90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.
Thesaurus
The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.
more
/rɪˈɡret/ 
| present tense | |
| I/you/we/they | regret |
| he/she/it | regrets |
| present participle | regretting |
| past tense | regretted |
| past participle | regretted |
- to feel sorry or sad that something has happened
We regret any inconvenience caused by the delay.
regret (that):I regret that I will not be with you on such an important occasion.
- a.to feel sorry or sad about something that you have said or done
Haven’t you ever said anything you regret?
I’m glad you’re coming with us. You won’t regret it.
regret doing something:I don’t regret moving to New York.
live to regret something (=regret it later):This is one decision you’ll live to regret.
deeply regret:I deeply regret what happened – there is no excuse for it.
phrase
I/we regret to inform/tell you that
formal
This is the American English definition of regret. View British English definition of regret.
Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.
vocal fry
a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence
BuzzWord ArticleWord of the Day
zeugma
the use of a word twice in the same sentence but with different meanings. The sentence ‘She...
Open Dictionary
conflict mineral
a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons
add a wordMore submissions
view entriesBlog
A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.
global English and language change from our blog