tend
Tend means to take care of or be in charge of someone or something.
(verb)An example of tend is watering a friend's garden while they are on vacation.
Tend is defined as to proceed in a direction or be inclined to do something.
(verb)- An example of tend is the flight path of migrating birds.
- An example of tend is a person typically voting Democrat.
See tend in Webster's New World College Dictionary
transitive verb
- to take care of; minister to; watch over; look after; attend to: to tend plants or animals, to tend the sick
- to be in charge of or at work at; manage or operate: to tend a store
- Naut. to be on the alert to keep (a rope, diver's air line, etc.) from fouling
Origin: ME tenden, aphetic < attenden: see attend
intransitive verb
intransitive verb
- to be directed; proceed or extend: the road tends south
- to have an inclination, tendency, bias, etc. to do something; incline: tending to overeat
- to lead or be directed (to or toward a specified result)
Origin: ME tenden < OFr tendre < L tendere, to stretch, extend, tend: see thin
See tend in American Heritage Dictionary 4
intransitive verb tend·ed, tend·ing, tends
- To have a tendency: paint that tends toward bubbling and peeling over time.
- To be disposed or inclined: tends toward exaggeration.
- To move or extend in a certain direction: Our ship tended northward.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English tenden
Origin: , from Old French tendre
Origin: , from Latin tendere; see ten- in Indo-European roots
.verb tend·ed, tend·ing, tends verb, transitive
- To have the care of; watch over; look after: tend a child.
- To manage the activities and transactions of; run: tend bar; tend a store in the owner's absence.
- To be an attendant or servant.
- To apply one's attention; attend: no time to tend to my diary.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English tenden
Origin: , short for attenden, to wait on; see attend
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