fender bender

American  

Or fender-bender

noun

Informal.

1. a collision between motor vehicles in which there is only minor damage.

---

Etymology

Origin of fender bender

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

And this latest fender bender might be the one that finally illuminates dashboard warning lights for those bosses who have always so hastily turned to Woods in the past.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

The damage included shooting down one of our own fighter jets and a carrier fender bender with a civilian ship.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

A fender bender that would be a simple fix on a traditional vehicle could require an expensive and lengthy repair on an EV to mend the battery and recalibrate the car and its sensors.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2025

Then, when I departed said strip mall and made a left-hand turn across four lanes of traffic, I hit another car—it was worse than a fender bender, but no one was hurt.

From Slate • May 12, 2024

On impact, he heard a crunching sound, somehow modest, a noise that reminded him more of a fender bender than what this was: a highspeed direct hit.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel