Dictionary
re•frain
Pronunciation: (ri-frān'), [key]—
v.i.
to abstain from an impulse to say or do something (often fol. by
from):
I refrained from telling him what I thought.
—
v.t.
Archaic.to curb.
re•frain
Pronunciation: (ri-frān'), [key]—
n.
1. a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a song or poem, esp. at the end of each stanza; chorus.
2. Music.
a. a musical setting for the refrain of a poem.
b. any melody.
c. the principal, recurrent section of a rondo.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.