tend

/ˈtɛnd/

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pin pen merger/ˈtɪnd/

tend verb: to make a tender of; to offer or tender.

Verb (1)

tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

To make a tender of; to offer or tender.
(auxiliary) To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain habit or leaning.
- They tend to go out on Saturdays.
- It tends to snow here in winter.
(intransitive) To contribute to or toward some outcome.
- She had found in her everything that could tend to make a farther connection between the families undesirable.1811, [Jane Austen], chapter I, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume III, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC
- The Lords in 1722 declared that annexing such Clauses tends to the destruction of this government. And yet there are such bills every session and you pass them.1812, William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England

Verb (2)

tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

To look after (e.g. an ill person.)
- We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.
Synonyms:

care for, minister to, nurse, to, take care of
To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
- Shepherds tend their flocks.
- There's not a sparrow or a wren, / There's not a blade of autumn grain, / Which the four seasons do not tend / And tides of life and increase lend.1847, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Threnody
Synonyms:

guard, look after, watch
To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
- Was he not companion with the riotous knights / That tend upon my father?c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
(obsolete) To await; to expect.
- Had I not. Four or five women once that tended me?1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
(obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
- Being to descend / A ladder much in height, I did not tend / My way well down.1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615...
Synonyms:

attend to
(transitive) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.

Verb (3)

tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

(dialectal, transitive) To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.

tend meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu

tend in Bengali

তত্ত্বাবধান করা, পরিচর্যা করা, প্রবণ হওয়া, সহায়ক হওয়া, যত্নবান্ হওয়া

tend in Telugu

to tend, as cattle: కాయు kāyu

More languagesFewer languages

tend in Malayalam: പരിപാലിക്കുക, മേയ്ക്കുക, ഉദ്യമിക്കുക
tend in Kannada: ಆರಯ್ಸು, ಕಾಪಾಡು, ಸಾವಗಿಸು, ಒಲವುತೋರು
tend in Odia: ଜଗିବା jagibā, ପାଳିବା pāḷibā
tend in Sanskrit: रक्ष् rakṣ, अञ्च् añc, अञ्चति áncati
tend in Assamese: পাল pal

Examples of tend in a sentence

I was tending to get up later and later after the breakup.
Man selects only for his own good; Nature only for that of the being which she tends.1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (1859) :

All 40 example sentences with tend

Synonyms of tend

All synonyms of tend

Forms of tend

third-person singular present	tends
present participle	tending
past participle	tended
past	tended
alternative form	teend
alternative form	tende
alternative form	tind
alternative form	tine
alternative form (obsolete)	'tend

Past tense of tend: tended

Origin of tend

From Middle English tenden, from Middle French tendre, from Old French tendre (“to stretch, stretch out, hold forth, offer, tender”), from Latin tendere (“to stretch, stretch out, extend, spread out”).

From Middle English tenden (“to pay attention to”), by apheresis of attenden (“to attend”) or entenden (“to intend”). More at attend and intend.

From Middle English tenden, from Old English tendan (“to kindle, set on fire”) (usually in compounds ātendan, fortendan, ontendan), from Proto-Germanic *tandijaną (“to kindle”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Danish tænde (“to kindle”), Swedish tända (“to ignite”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (tandjan, “to kindle”), Icelandic tendra (“to ignite”), German zünden (“to light, ignite, fire”). Related to tinder.

Words formed from tend

Words that rhyme with tend

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about tend

What does tend mean?: Tend means to make a tender of; to offer or tender.
What is tend in Tamil?: Tend in Tamil is பராமரி. See Tend meaning in Tamil.
How do you use tend in a sentence?: I was tending to get up later and later after the breakup.
What part of speech is tend?: Tend is a verb.
How do you pronounce tend?: Tend is pronounced /ˈtɛnd/.
What is the past tense of tend?: The past tense of tend is tended.

Words near tend in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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

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

Verb (1)

Verb (2)

Verb (3)

tend meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu

tend in Tamil

tend in Urdu

tend in Bengali

tend in Telugu

Examples of tend in a sentence

Synonyms of tend

Forms of tend

Origin of tend

Words formed from tend

Related words

Words that rhyme with tend

Questions about tend

Words near tend in the dictionary

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