friend

[ frend ]

noun

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

   Synonyms: confidant, crony, chum, comrade

   Antonyms: foe, enemy

2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter

   friends of the Boston Symphony.

   Synonyms: advocate, backer

3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile:

   Who goes there? Friend or foe?

4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.

   Synonyms: compatriot, confrere, associate, ally

   Antonyms: foe, enemy

5. Friend, a member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker:

   The religious practices of Friends are founded in direct communion with God.

6. a person associated with another as a contact on a social media website:

   We've never met, but we're Facebook friends.

verb (used with object)

1. Rare. to befriend.
2. to add (a person) to one's list of contacts on a social media website:

   I just friended a couple of guys in my class.

Friend

¹

/ frɛnd /

noun

1. mountaineering a device consisting of a shaft with double-headed spring-loaded cams that can be wedged in a crack to provide an anchor point

friend

²

/ frɛnd /

noun

1. a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate
2. an acquaintance or associate
3. an ally in a fight or cause; supporter
4. a fellow member of a party, society, etc
5. a patron or supporter

   a friend of the opera

6. be friends
   to be friendly (with)
7. make friends
   to become friendly (with)

verb

1. tr an archaic word for befriend

Friend

³

/ frɛnd /

noun

1. a member of the Religious Society of Friends; Quaker

Derived Forms

• ˈfriendship, noun
• ˈfriendless, adjective
• ˈfriendlessness, noun

Other Words From

• friend·less adjective
• friend·less·ness noun
• non·friend noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of friend¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English friend, frend, Old English frēond “friend, lover, relative” (cognate with Old Saxon friund, Old High German friunt ( German Freund ), Gothic frijōnds ), originally the present participle of frēogan, cognate with Gothic frijōn “to love”

Word History and Origins

Origin of friend¹

Old English frēond ; related to Old Saxon friund , Old Norse frǣndi , Gothic frijōnds , Old High German friunt

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make friends with, to enter into friendly relations with; become a friend to.

More idioms and phrases containing friend

In addition to the idiom beginning with friend , also see fair-weather friend ; make friends .

Synonym Study

See acquaintance.

Example Sentences

Speaking to the BBC, he said he thought of himself as too old to be called a lookalike but friends had always said he resembled the hero of Steven Knight's hit series.

From BBC

A tourist in Tasmania has had his leg amputated in the middle of a raging river after getting trapped between rocks during a kayaking trip with friends.

From BBC

"We are open to extending an invitation, and so in our discussions with friends and allies, and friends and allies of Ukraine, we are working to get them to closer to our positions," Barrot said.

From BBC

When I have time, I’ll jump on the subway and meet my friend at the theater and we’ll stand in line and see if they have tickets.

From New York Times

Crying, Antonio’s friends planted flowers on his grave before bursting colourful balloons over it, a reminder that he was just a child.

From BBC

Related Words

• acquaintance
• ally
• associate
• buddy
• classmate
• colleague
• companion
• cousin
• partner
• roommate

How Do You Spell Friend?

Spelling tips for friend

The word friend is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it sounds like [ frend ], making it easy to miss the i. Second, even if you know there is an i, it can be difficult to remember the order of the i and the e.

How to spell friend: To remember that friend has an i in it, think of the phrase “I see my friends on Friday.” Both friend and Friday begin fri-. If you remember that friend has an i in it, but just can’t remember where it goes, keep in mind the classic mnemonic device “I before E, except after C.”