Word.ws English Dictionary

bend

/bɛnd/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

pin pen merger/bɪnd/

bend verb: to cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.

bend: to cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any...
Image: Christian Mehlführer, Chmehl, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

bend (third-person singular simple present bends, present participle bending, simple past and past participle bent or (archaic) bended)

  1. (transitive) To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.
    • If you bend the pipe too far, it will break.
    • Don’t bend your knees.
    Synonyms:
    flex
  2. (intransitive) To become curved.
    • Look at the trees bending in the wind.
    Synonyms:
    flex
  3. (transitive) To cause to change direction.
    • Bend thine ear to supplication.1667, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
    • Towards Coventry bend we our course.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
  4. (intransitive) To change direction.
    • The road bends to the right.
  5. (intransitive) To be inclined; to direct itself.
    • to whom our vows and wishes bend1634, John Milton, “Arcades”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC
  6. (intransitive, usually) To stoop.
    • He bent down to pick up the pieces.
  7. (intransitive) To bow in prayer, or in token of submission.
    • Each to his great Father bends.1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC
  8. (transitive) To force to submit.
    • They bent me to their will.
    • Of liegers for her sweet, and which she after
      Except she bend her humour, shall be assured
      To taste of too.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
  9. (intransitive) To submit.
    • I am bending to my desire to eat junk food.
  10. (transitive) To apply to a task or purpose.
    • He bent the company's resources to gaining market share.
    • And I remember one great Miniſter that confeſt to me, when he fell into one of his uſual Fits of the Gout, He was no longer able to bend his mind or thoughts to any Publick Buſineſs, [...]1679, William Temple, “An Essay upon the Cure of Gout by Moxa. […]”, in Miscellanea. […], London: […] A. M. and R. R. for Edw[ard] Gellibrand, […], →OCLC, page 192
  11. (intransitive) To apply oneself to a task or purpose.
    • He bent to the goal of gaining market share.
  12. (transitive) To adapt or interpret to for a purpose or beneficiary.
    • Palladius did not lie, although he might have bent the facts a bit and even passed over in silence whatever might not have benefited his client's cause.2011, Demetrios S. Katos, Palladius of Helenopolis: The Origenist Advocate, page 60
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (transitive) To tie, as in securing a line to a cleat; to shackle a chain to an anchor; make fast.
    • Bend the sail to the yard.
  2. (transitive) To smoothly change the pitch of a note.
    • You should bend the G slightly sharp in the next measure.
  3. (intransitive) To swing the body when rowing.

Noun

bend (plural bends)

  1. A curve.
    • There's a sharp bend in the road ahead.
    • I hear the train a comin'/It's rolling round the bend1968, Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues
  2. Any of the various knots which join the ends of two lines.
    • A simpler version of the common bend with its ends in the same direction is used to join binder twine in a hay baling machine.2012, Percy W. Blandford, Practical Knots and Ropework, page 67
  3. (in plural) A severe condition caused by excessively quick decompression, causing bubbles of nitrogen to form in the blood; decompression sickness.
    • A diver who stays deep for too long must ascend very slowly in order to prevent the bends.
  4. One of the honourable ordinaries formed by two diagonal lines drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base; it generally occupies a fifth part of the shield if uncharged, but if charged one third.
    • Perhaps the most celebrated coat of arms is that of Scrope, which is Azure a bend Or. This is the coat over which, from 1385 to 1390, Sir Robert le Grosvenor and Sir Richard le Scrope invoked the High Court of Chivalry to decide which of them had the right to bear these arms. Chaucer gave evidence...1968, Charles MacKinnon of Dunakin, The Observer's Book of Heraldry, pages 63–64
  5. (obsolete) Turn; purpose; inclination; ends.
    • Farewell, poor swain; thou art not for my bend.1608, John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess, act 1, scene 3
  6. In the leather trade, the best quality of sole leather; a butt; sometimes, half a butt cut lengthwise.
  7. Hard, indurated clay; bind.
  8. (in plural) The thickest and strongest planks in a ship's sides, more generally called wales, which have the beams, knees, and futtocks bolted to them.
  9. (in plural) The frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to the top of the sides.
    • the midship bends
  10. A glissando, or glide between one pitch and another, especially one accomplished by bending a string (such as on guitar).

Proper noun capitalized: Bend

Bend

  1. A ghost town and former railway community in central British Columbia, Canada. Named after a 90-degree curve in the railway line.
  2. A census-designated place in Tehama County, California, United States.
  3. An unincorporated community in Maries County, Missouri, United States.
  4. A city, the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States.
    • Many locals thought doing so contradicted the democratic spirit of skiing, where strangers sharing a lift chair might include both billionaires with second homes in Bend and ski bums living in vans.2025 January 23, John Branch, “Revenge of the Ski Bums”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2025
  5. An unincorporated community in Meade County, South Dakota, United States.
  6. An unincorporated community in Lampasas County and San Saba County, Texas, United States.
  7. A surname.

bend meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

bend in Hindi

to cause to shape into a curve
झुकाव jhukāv, प्रवृत्ति pravŕtti
to become curved
झुकना jhuknā, मुड़ना muṛnā
to cause to change direction
मुड़ना muṛnā
to change direction
मुड़ना muṛnā

bend in Tamil

வளைவு, வளை

bend in Marathi

curve
वळण vaḷaṇ

bend in Urdu

to bend
جھکنا jhuknā, مڑنا muṛnā
More languagesFewer languages
bend in Bengali
বক্র স্থান, বাঁক, বক্রীভবন, বক্রীকরণ
bend in Telugu
వంగు vaṅgu, వంచు vañcu, వంకర vaṅkara, తిరుగుడు tiruguḍu
bend in Malayalam
വളയ്ക്കുക vaḷaykkuka
bend in Kannada
ತಿರುವು, ಮಡುಕು, ಮಣಿಗೆ, ಬಾಗಿಸು
bend in Gujarati
મરડવું maraḍvũ, નમવું namvũ, વળવું vaḷvũ
bend in Odia
ନଇଁବା naĩbā
bend in Sanskrit
नमति namati, अङ्कस् aṅkas, ग्रन्थि granthi
bend in Pashto
پېچ pech
bend in Arabic
ثَنَى ṯanā
bend in Persian
خماندن xamândan
bend in Thai
งอ ngɔɔ, เบน been, โค้ง kóong, ลู่ lûu
bend in Vietnamese
uốn cong

Examples of bend in a sentence

  • when to mischief mortals bend their will1714, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard...
  • It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
  • Perhaps the most celebrated coat of arms is that of Scrope, which is Azure a bend Or.1968, Charles MacKinnon of Dunakin, The Observer's Book of Heraldry, pages 63–64:

All 40 example sentences with bend

Synonyms of bend

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of bend

Forms of bend

Verb
third-person singular presentbends
present participlebending
past participlebent
pastbent
past participle (archaic)bended
past (archaic)bended
Noun
pluralbends

Past tense of bend: bent

Plural of bend: bends

Origin of bend

From Middle English benden, from Old English bendan (“to bind or bend (a bow), fetter, restrain”), from Proto-West Germanic *bandijan, from Proto-Germanic *bandijaną (“to bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, tie”). Cognate with Middle High German benden (“to fetter”), Danish bænde (“to bend”), Norwegian bende (“to bend”), Faroese benda (“to bend, inflect”), Icelandic benda (“to bend”). Related to bind, band, bond.

Most places get their name from bends in rivers.

Words formed from bend

Phrases with bend

17 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with bend

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about bend

What does bend mean?
Bend means to cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.
What is bend in Hindi?
Bend in Hindi is झुकाव (jhukāv), प्रवृत्ति (pravŕtti), मुड़ना (muṛnā). See Bend meaning in Hindi.
How do you use bend in a sentence?
when to mischief mortals bend their will
What part of speech is bend?
Bend can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce bend?
Bend is pronounced /bɛnd/.
What is the past tense of bend?
The past tense of bend is bent.

Words near bend in the dictionary

  1. Bencosme
  2. Bencosmes
  3. bencove
  4. bencoves
  5. bencyclane
  6. bend
  7. bend dexter
  8. bend down
  9. bend it like Beckham
  10. Bend of Islands
  11. bend one off

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bend (page history and authors); Bend (page history and authors); bend (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); جھکنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); bend (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); తిరుగుడు (Telugu) (page history and authors); bend (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); નમવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ନଇଁବା (Odia) (page history and authors); پېچ (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bend.wav.

Cite this entry: “bend.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bend. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.