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mend definition

mend (mend)

transitive verb

  1. to repair (something broken, torn, or worn); restore to good condition; make whole; fix
  2. to make better; improve; reform; set right to mend one's manners
  3. to atone for; make amends for: now only in least said, soonest mended

Etymology: ME menden, aphetic < amenden, amend

intransitive verb

  1. to get better; improve, esp. in health
  2. to grow together again or heal, as a fracture

noun

  1. the act of mending; improvement
  2. a mended place, as on a garment

Related Forms:

mend Idioms

on the mend

improving, esp. in health

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms mend idiom

mend Synonyms

mend

v.

  1. To repair

    repair, patch, patch up, darn, sew, fix, restore, reconstruct, retouch, put in shape, heal, put back together, cobble, doctor*; see also reconstruct, repair, restore 3.

  2. To improve

    aid, remedy, cure; see correct 1, improve 1.

  3. Reform

    regenerate, behave, mend one's manners, mend one's ways; see improve 2, reform 3.

  4. To get well

    recover, respond to medication, knit; see heal 1, recover 3.

mend is the general word implying the making whole again of something that has been broken, torn, etc. to mend a toy, to mend a dress; repair, often equivalent to mend, is preferred when the object is a relatively complex one that has become damaged or decayed through use, age, exhaustion, etc. to repair an automobile, to repair a radio; patch and darn imply the mending of a hole, tear, etc., the former by inserting or applying a piece of similar material to patch a coat, to patch a tire, the latter by sewing a network of stitches across the gap to darn a sock

on the mend

getting better, recuperating, recovering; see improving.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

mend Usage Examples

Object

  • puncture: Don't waste time trying to mend a puncture by the side of the road.

Converse of object

  • make: Helen's Spiritualist friends say that during his visits to her cell Prime Minister Churchill made promises of making mends to Helen.

Subject

  • kindness: A fractured world is mended by the kindness of strangers.

Modifying Another Word

  • soon: We have a few bruises which will soon mend.

Used with why or when

  • when: A puncture was quickly mended when everyone lent a hand or tool to the process.

Preposition: in

  • time: The neck, just above the handle join, has been broken and mended in modern times.

Preposition: by

  • kindness: A fractured world is mended by the kindness of strangers.
mend usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

mend quotes

This world is bad enough maybe; We do not comprehend it; But in one fact can all agree God won't, and we can't mend it.

-Clough, Arthur Hugh

mend quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"mend." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/mend>

APA Style

mend. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/mend

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