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mend
[ mend ]
verb (used with object)
- to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing:
to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.
- to remove or correct defects or errors in.
- to set right; make better; improve:
to mend matters.
Synonyms: ameliorate
verb (used without object)
noun
- the act of mending; repair or improvement.
- a mended place.
mend
/ mɛnd /
verb
- tr to repair (something broken or unserviceable)
- to improve or undergo improvement; reform (often in the phrase mend one's ways )
- intr to heal or recover
- intr (of conditions) to improve; become better
- tr to feed or stir (a fire)
noun
- the act of repairing
- a mended area, esp on a garment
- on the mendbecoming better, esp in health
Derived Forms
- ˈmendable, adjective
- ˈmender, noun
Other Words From
- menda·ble adjective
- re·mend verb
- un·menda·ble adjective
- un·mended adjective
- well-mended adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of mend1
Word History and Origins
Origin of mend1
Idioms and Phrases
- mend sail, Nautical. to refurl sails that have been badly furled. Also mend the furl.
- on the mend,
- recovering from an illness.
- improving in general, as a state of affairs:
The breach between father and son is on the mend.
More idioms and phrases containing mend
- on the mend
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
In light of what has occurred elsewhere on the roster, the fact that they are on the mend could constitute good news for the Ravens, who also recently got back from injury starting wide receivers Marquise Brown and Sammy Watkins.
Kids can still get the vaccine even if they’ve contracted SARS-CoV-2 if their symptoms are mild or if they’re on the mend—only children under 6 months of age or those with known allergies to vaccine ingredients should go without it.
His reappearance in a mundane setting such as the teachers’ awards speech — instead of a groveling public apology — could suggest that Ma’s relations with Beijing are on the mend.
When Julie’s boyfriend came home with a brand new iPhone for her at the end of the summer in 2019, Julie saw it as a peace offering—a sign that their relationship was on the mend.
That in particular is a sign, say some analysts, that the underlying economic conditions are on the mend, given the index increased sensitivity to changes in GDP and the economic cycle.
There, he first picked up needle and thread to mend the shirt of an SS guard who had just beaten him.
The other is still on the mend, but was doing well the last Patterson heard.
Local mechanics pitched in to help mend the craft, but weeks into setting off the repairs wore thin and the vessel sprung a leak.
As is often the case when the letter and the spirit of the law begin to fray, legal creativity gets called upon to mend them.
The Americans seem to be on the mend in Atlanta, but the priest died on Tuesday.
Is a Tailor, that can make a new Coat well, the worse Workman, because he can mend an old one?
Now, go and mend that deplorable frock, and if you don't dream over it, you won't waste too much of your holiday.
He was much disconcerted, and did not materially mend the matter by saying it was the first name that came into his head.
“But being disgusted with our luxury and giving it all up would not mend matters, little wife,” returned Jack with a faint smile.
We know well enough the weak parts of human nature: if they are treated tenderly, they may mend.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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