1. a repeated line or number of lines in a poem or song, typically at the end of each verse.
▪ the musical accompaniment for a refrain: "he would play the refrain"
▪ a comment or complaint that is often repeated:"‘Poor Tom’ had become the constant refrain of his friends"
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, from refraindre ‘break’, based on Latin refringere ‘break up’ (because the refrain ‘broke’ the sequence).