To wear out or into shreads, or to suffer injury by rubbing, as when the threads of the warp or of the woof wear off so that the cross threads are loose; to ravel; as, the cloth frays badly
The fray is an exciting or challenging activity, situation, or argument that you are involved in. There will have to be a second round of voting when new candidates can enter the fray He would be inspiring young people to get into the political fray. the fray an argument or fight
If something such as cloth or rope frays, or if something frays it, its threads or fibres start to come apart from each other and spoil its appearance. The fabric is very fine or frays easily The stitching had begun to fray at the edges Her washing machine tends to fray edges on intricate designs. fraying edges in the stair carpet He wore frayed jeans and cowboy shirts