Cause friction

The answer

CHAFE

5 letters. See every clue for this answer on the CHAFE answer page.

Used 13 times across 12 distinct years; most recently in 2026; first recorded in 2000. It appears in 7 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.

Other answers for this clue

The same clue has also been answered these ways in the xd corpus. Answers inside this collection link to their own answer page.

• RUB (16 uses in xd)

Other clues for CHAFE

Every other clue in this collection answered by CHAFE, most used first.

• Rub the wrong way - used 55 times, most recently in 2026
• Irritate - used 29 times, most recently in 2025
• Abrade - used 19 times, most recently in 2026
• Irritate by rubbing - used 17 times, most recently in 2026
• Make sore by rubbing - used 12 times, most recently in 2022
• Annoy. - used 10 times, most recently in 2013
• Rub - used 10 times, most recently in 2019
• Rub raw - used 10 times, most recently in 2021
• Rub roughly - used 8 times, most recently in 2024
• Abrade by rubbing - used 6 times, most recently in 2021
• Rub harshly - used 6 times, most recently in 2025

Related clues

Clues in this collection of the same answer length that share a word with this clue, or match its answer pattern when no word is shared. Most used first.

• Lost cause - GONER, used 45 times
• Cause to chuckle - AMUSE, used 43 times
• "___ Without a Cause" - REBEL, used 24 times
• "It's ___ cause" - ALOST, used 17 times
• Sal of "Rebel Without a Cause" - MINEO, used 17 times
• Cause to blush - ABASH, used 15 times

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